


Bully Hunter

by ErisLuna35



Series: The Hijacked Adventures of Ladybug and Chat Noire [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug, Original Work
Genre: Demiromantic Character, Demisexual Character, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Foreshadowing, Gen, How Do I Tag, Matchmaking, Some Backstory, Toxic friendship, and people helping others get out of their Toxic Friendship, because apparently I can't write anything without angst, fleshing out some characters and their dynamics, hinted Nonbinary Character, or is it call forward?, stuff here will get referenced in future episodes, too bad she doesn't know those labels, whatever, writing tags is hard!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-25 06:28:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 32,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19740115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErisLuna35/pseuds/ErisLuna35
Summary: “You don’t have to come, Fuyu. I’ll be fine."“You’ll be alone with your childhood bully and his sidekick in a room full of screaming children. I don’t know about you Shizu, but that looks like a disaster waiting to happen."





	1. When Winter Met Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone! I'm not dead!  
> Now some of you may recognize these chapters as chapter 9-13 of the Hijacked Adventures of Ladybug and Chat Noire...  
> They are those chapters, but I've edited them in several parts. It's most noticeable from chapter 3-5, with a few added scenes and dialogue. But the plot is still more or less the same.  
> Lesson learned, never post anything unless I'm more than 100% happy with it hahaha
> 
> So Trigger warnings, this chapter contains scenes depicting a toxic friendship. Nothing too graphic or detailed, especially since it’s from an outsider’s POV, but it’s still there so just wanna warn readers.

**Fiona**

It was around this time of the year when we became friends – the time when winter turns to spring. It’s been seven whole years.

0-0-0-0-0

_Seven years ago…_

_Summer vacation just ended and I already miss the biting cold of Russia: my grampa’s cheerful old voice, the hot chocolate he never seems to run out of, the obstacle course he set up in his backyard that served as my playground… His place may not be as comfy as my home here in Helios, but at least nobody there treated me like I’m made of porcelain._

_I’m aware that I’m adorable. Big sapphire blue eyes, long rosy pink hair bunched into two pigtails, pearly white skin, delicate petite stature… With the cute frilly dresses and the sparkly jewelry Papa decorates me with, I’m like the world’s most life-like doll – the little princess of the king of gems. Everyone adores me for it. That’s all they ever saw me as, nothing more._

_And I hated it._

_The mayor’s son may be annoying, but at least he doesn’t act like I’m a pushover. He’s the only person at school worth talking to. Too bad this year, his father decided to have him home-schooled. Killjoy._

_So now I’m sitting in school, all alone. Life sucks._

_“Class, we have a new student today,” said the homeroom teacher, Mr Warren. He ushered in a boy who was nervously shaking in front of the class._

_He has short bluish-black hair, tawny beige skin, and warm chocolate brown eyes hidden behind a pair of thick square glasses. He was wearing an oversized apple green sweater that’s faded in some areas and a ratty old backpack covered in markings that I don’t understand. Clearly, he’s not from around here._

_The boy bowed to us like we’re royalty, and said in a voice that’s louder than necessary: “MAI NEIMU ISU MIDORIKAWA SHIZUKE!!! NAISU TO MIT YUUUU!!!”_

_I didn’t understand a word he said. Everyone laughed at his terrible language skills. I’d be laughing too if I didn’t know how it feels like to be in a place where everyone speaks differently from me. The boy’s face turned redder than a tomato in embarrassment as the laughter got louder._

_“Settle down children!” Mr Warren said, knocking on his desk to get the class’s attention. Once the class quieted down, he placed a comforting hand on the red faced boy and continued his introduction for him, “His name is Shizuke Midorikawa. He came from Kyoto, Japan and he’ll be studying here with us from now on. He has a good understanding of English, but please be considerate and speak to him slowly.”_

_“But he can’t even speak right! Why do we have to speak to him at all?” one of the boys sneered, causing the class to erupt with laughter._

_The boy is now hiding behind the teacher, who glanced down at him sympathetically. The orange haired assistant teacher, Mr Ross, slammed a book into the desk so loud that the class abruptly stopped laughing to stare._

_“Children, I will not tolerate you making fun of our new student like that. This boy came from a different place where everyone speaks differently from us. If any of you were to go there, would you like to be laughed at for not knowing how to say their words properly?”_

_None of the kids said anything. Nobody would like to be made fun of over that. Mr Ross, content with their reaction, smiled at the class. This is the first time I ever thought of Keagan’s uncle-to-be as anything but an awkward dork. The new kid was looking at Mr Ross with awe._

_“So please, don’t make fun of him for that. Instead, why don’t you kids help him out? I’m sure you can learn a lot from him as he will learn a lot from you.”_

_“Yes, Mr. Ross,” the class chorused._

_“Thanks man, you’re a lifesaver,” Mr. Warren said to the assistant teacher before kneeling down to the boy’s eye level. “Now go along. You can sit next to, uhm…”_

_Mr. Warren scanned the room looking for an empty seat before his eyes settled on me. Or more likely, the empty seat next to me- Keagan’s seat._

_“How about you go sit next to Fiona over there?”_

_Oh no, you don’t! I dumped my bag onto the empty seat, claiming it as mine._

_“Fiona, don’t be rude. Let your new classmate sit there,” Mr. Warren chided._

_I glared at him and shook my head. “No! The idiot sits here!”_

_Mr. Ross looked at me with sympathetic aquamarine eyes. “I understand how you feel, but Keagan is being home-schooled now. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind-“_

_“No.”_

_“How about you let the new kid sit next to me?”_

_Oh no. Anyone but him. He’s the absolute worst!_

_“Thank you, Damien,” Mr. Warren smiled at him with relief and turned back to the new kid. “You can sit in the back with the huge boy in a black shirt.”_

_The new kid nodded, his hands clutched onto his backpack straps and he wordlessly made his way to the empty seat next to a huge dark skinned boy with spiky black hair and dark brown eyes. He passed by my desk, stared at Keagan’s empty seat until one of Damien’s underlings jeered, “Hurry up, nerd!” causing him to scramble to the back._

_I can already tell that life is gonna suck for the new kid._

0-0-0-0-0

_“Calm down, Hon,” Mama said as she rubbed Papa’s back._

_“You’re in the same class as the eldest son of Guerrero Real Estates?!” Papa shrieked, as soon as he recovered from choking on his drink when I told him how my first day in class went over dinner._

_“Yup.”_

_I continued to shove my vegetables to the side of my plate. Ick._

_Gavril, my older brother by five years, slid his vegetables onto my plate. Jerk._

_“Gav, don’t think I didn’t see that,” Mama scolded as she took my plate and returned Gavril’s share of his vegetables, making Gav glare at her. “Don’t give me that look. If I have to suffer eating my vegetables, you should too.”_

_Gavril grumbled about how gross vegetables are. Mama sighed and ate her share to prove her point. Defeated, Gavril started eating his vegetables too._

_“That goes for you too, Fiona. You may not like the taste, but you need to eat them,” Mama chided as she plopped more buttery mashed potatoes down my plate. “Just cut them up into tiny pieces and swallow them in between eating your mashed potatoes. Don’t chew. It should help make the taste more tolerable.”_

_I groaned but did as she said. At least she never lied about vegetables tasting good like Keagan’s parents tend to do. Mama can be trusted._

_“Bel, this is HUGE! Think of all the connections we could get if little Fiona befriends him!”_

_“Feodor, honey, no discussing business at the dinner table.”_

_One would’ve thought Mama – who dresses like a punk 24/7, has twelve piercings, tattoos on every inch of skin from the neck down and does that for other people for a living – would be the wild parent while Papa – who likes wearing stuffy suits, spends an hour in the bathroom every day just to make himself pretty and works for an international brand as their new top jewelry designer – would be the one trying to keep order in this family. More often than not, it’s the other way around._

_“Damien’s a jerk. I don’t wanna be friends with him,” I huffed and swallowed a huge helping of mashed potato to get rid of the vegetable’s icky taste._

_Gavril snorted. “You’re just chicken.”_

_“Am not!” I slammed my fork and spoon down on the table._

_“You so are! That’s why you only befriend wimps like Fire McGoldenAsh!”_

_“Damien is a big bully who scares everyone into doing what he wants! I don’t want to be friends with someone like that!”_

_“So you ARE scared!”_

_“I. Am. NOT!”_

_“Are too!”_

_“AM NOT!”_

_“But he’s not like that around you, is he?” Papa asked. There’s a protective edge in his voice. The seriousness in his tone was enough to quiet down my annoying brother – and the fact that Mama put a hand over his mouth._

_“No, but that doesn’t make it okay,” I growled._

_And that kind of behavior disgusts me. I used to be one of those people Damien would step on. He’d still be doing that if my family weren’t so rich now._

_Papa narrowed his steel grey eyes at me to look for any signs if I’m lying. Seeing none, Papa nodded in understanding. “Just don’t get on his bad side, okay? The Guerreros are not the sort of people we’d want to mess with.”_

_I wanted to argue, that what Damien’s doing is wrong. I looked to Mama, hoping she’d talk some sense into Papa like she always would… But instead, she’s agreeing with Papa._

_“Listen to Papa, Fiona. This isn’t a fight you’d want to get into. You don’t have to be friends with him as long as you’re not his enemy,” Mama patted my hair comfortingly. “We just want you to be safe.”_

_I nodded reluctantly. It’s hard to argue if even Mama thinks it’s what I should do._

_“And don’t slouch. It’s not lady-like,” Papa chided._

_I slouched down even more. The last thing I wanted was to be more lady-like. Papa huffed but before he can say anything about it, Gav got his attention._

_“Hey, what’s the big deal? Aren’t we technically richer than those guys now that you’ve been promoted to Hera’s top designer?”_

_“We are. But they’re a powerful family from old money with a reputation in this city, while we’ve only recently climbed up the social ladder. Even with Hera’s international influence, I’m just their employee. And…”_

_And so my parents and Gav started talking about boring stuff that I zoned out. All I really understood was that while Damien’s family is rich, ours is richer, and Keagan’s is the richest. Makes sense. Keagan’s the one who lives in a castle after all. But just because we’re richer than Damien, doesn’t mean it’s okay to get on his bad side- the Guerreros are still a powerful family and no one wants to mess with them._

_One thing’s for sure, Keagan and I are lucky enough to stand above Damien. We’re not his targets. I pity everyone else._

_The new kid is going to learn that the hard way._

0-0-0-0-0

_“B+? Is that the best you can do?” Damien said, looking at his worksheet with disgust. “Damn, Shizuke, I thought you’d be good at math! Are those glasses just for show or are you just that one dumbass from Japan?”_

_“I-I’m sorry,” Shizuke ducked his head low in what I’m starting to understand as a gesture of apology. “Math is currently my best subject. They use the same symbols from back home, but I’m no super geniu-“_

_“Bullshit!” Damien cut in. He crumpled his worksheet into a ball and threw it at Shizuke’s bowed down head. “Am I not your friend? Is this how you repay me after all the kindness I’ve given you?”_

_By kindness, he meant letting him have a seat. Just sitting next to Damien prevents others from mocking him, which I wouldn’t count as Damien protecting him. And there’s allegedly improving Shizuke’s English, but I get the feeling the new kid could’ve done that on his own with enough practice talking to other people._

_“No. I’ll do better next time. I promise.”_

_“You better,” Damien spat. “Now back to your seat. You can help me get better grades in Science while I get us lunch.”_

_“Yes, Damien-kun. Thank you for being my friend.”_

_This pattern went on for a few more weeks, progressively getting worse. The paper balls he throws at Shizuke soon became pencils. Other days, he threw notebooks. On very bad days, he threw shoes._

_I’m sure the kid will realize that Damien is a bad friend sooner or later. Nobody lasted more than a month. It’s only a matter of time now. There’s no need to interfere. No need to make myself a target._

0-0-0-0-0

_I was grumpily shoving my latest art failure – stupid Gav, taking all the art genes – into the garbage can when I heard my other classmates whispering among themselves._

_“He sure has it rough.”_

_When I took a peek down the hall at what they were talking about, I saw Shizuke running towards our classroom with a huge paper bag overflowing with art supplies._

_“Shouldn’t we help him or something?”_

_“No, stupid! Do you want to get on Damien’s bad side?”_

_“I heard the last kid who annoyed him got expelled.”_

_“Talk about overkill.”_

_“That’s why we should never mess with a Guerrero.”_

_Damien just loves to rub his money in their faces, and no one dares to tell on him. The faculty wouldn’t dare out of fear of his family. It’s why he gets away with so much. Only Mr Ross dared to help Shizuke but he’s only an assistant teacher for a couple of months. As soon as he was gone, Damien got worse._

_But day after day, looking at Shizuke’s pitiful form slumped over his desk surrounded by his and Damien’s schoolwork or scurrying around our huge school to run errands for Damien, it’s getting harder and harder to standby and do nothing… But is he worth the trouble?_

0-0-0-0-0

_Weekends are the only days the Ashworth Castle is ever open to the public anymore. Even during winter break, they stayed closed on the weekdays save for Christmas and New Year’s. For an amusement park with a fairy tale castle as the biggest attraction, it sure doesn’t feel like a fantasy land lately._

_“That’s because father’s too busy with his campaign to manage an amusement park,” Keagan said, as he stirred some sugar into his tea._

_We were having snacks in one of the castle’s many courtyards. The courtyard had a small fountain in the middle, surrounded by a lush garden decorated with fairy lights and lightly dusted with snow. We were in a gazebo having a kid-sized two person outdoor tea party. Even with the heaters on in the castle around us, Keagan’s all bundled up in a thick jacket and a duvet. I prefer to use mine as extra cushion._

_“And your mother?”_

_“Managing press, to boost my father’s publicity,” Keagan took a nice long sip of his Earl Grey._

_I grabbed a few more marshmallows to melt into my hot chocolate. I was gonna ask about his uncle when I remembered…_

_“Uncle Augusto would’ve been more than happy to take over but he’s…” Keagan choked on his words, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. It’s been months since his uncle died, but Keagan’s still not over it._

_The less said about his uncle’s wife and kid who left, the better._

_“There, there,” I said, reaching over the table to pat his head._

_“I’m not crying!” he whined, looking even more like a kicked puppy. “It’s not like I’m always alone!”_

_I narrowed my eyes at him. “But you’re still usually alone. You don’t like being alone.”_

_Keagan grumpily huffed about how nothing gets past me before going on to reassure, “My sister makes time to play with me in between her lessons. Aunt Vera visits me whenever she can, and I can always count on Uncle Ross to come if she couldn’t make it.”_

_“You know he’s not officially your uncle yet, right?”_

_Keagan grinned, cheerful now that we’re talking about him gaining an uncle instead of losing one._

_“It’s only a matter of time before he asks Aunt Vera to marry him, hehehe…” he twiddled his fingers as he cackled like a maniac._

_“Please. They’re not even dating yet.”_

_“Don’t underestimate Uncle Ross! I’m sure they’d get married soon!”_

_“Mr Ross is cool and all, but he’s a chicken when it comes to your Aunt Vera.”_

_I sipped down half of my hot chocolate in one go. This is definitely a step up from the hot chocolates I used to drink. One of the few things I love about being rich is being able to afford better versions of the sweets I love. It wasn’t until after I was done wiping off my chocolate mustache with my sleeve that I noticed Keagan was gaping at me._

_“Is there something on my face?”_

_“What did Uncle Ross do to get your words of approval?”_

_“Huh?”_

_Keagan scooted closer, his eyes wide with curiosity. “You said he’s cool.”_

_“So?”_

_“You’re not the sort to give out compliments easily. When you do, that person must’ve done something you genuinely think is awesome to earn it, and I doubt it’s about his new haircut – I’ll never understand why he had a long hair phase but I’m glad he’s over it.”_

_It’s times like these that remind me why I hang out with this ditzy prince. He gets me, unlike most people._

_”So, did Uncle Ross do something awesome at school recently?”_

_I told Keagan about how Mr Ross didn’t take the class’s crud and stopped them from making fun of the new kid on the first day of school. Not only that, Ross kept doing that whenever he’s within earshot so no one picked on the new kid whenever he’s around, not even Damien. Then Keagan got curious about the new kid. He’s Japanese, and with Keagan’s recent obsession with anime, of course he was interested. I told him everything I knew- which wasn’t much, but it was enough to paint an ugly picture of what that kid has gotten into. It made me sick that nothing’s changed even after months._

_“Poor kid, he doesn’t deserve to be treated that way! I wish there was something I can do…”_

_“But you’re stuck here and you can’t just leave-“_

_“I know!” Keagan cuts me off. Keagan doesn’t angry often, but when he does, it always catches me off guard. In a blink of an eye, he seemed to calm down much to my relief. “I know. But what’s happening with him is still wrong! If only …”_

_If only he could be there, he would’ve done something to change it._

_Talking about it with Keagan settled it for me. It’s nice to know there’s at least one other person who thinks that what is happening is wrong – that I’m not the only one who wants things to change. And change isn’t going to happen just by wishing for it, it happens when someone makes it happen. Shizuke clearly won’t make that change, but he needs to get away from Damien sooner rather than later._

_I don’t care if I get on Damien’s bad side or what Mama and Papa will say, I’m gonna do what’s right! As soon as school starts again, I’ll make that happen._

0-0-0-0-0

_“You know he’s just using you,” I told Shizuke._

_We were alone in the locker room. Everyone else was out for lunch. Shizuke was always the last to leave, as he was not only packing his own things, but also Damien’s._

_Shizuke shook his head and held the P.E. shirts – one of them had Damien’s name on it – closer to his chest._

_“No. This is the least I can do after all he’s done for me. I owe him.”_

_“You don’t owe him anything.”_

_“He gave me a place to sit on the first day of school!”_

_“And since then he’s been making you do all his schoolwork for him.”_

_“He gives me free lunch!”_

_“He took them from other kids and you just let him.”_

_Which is probably why no one was willing to help Shizuke. The other kids would’ve probably hated Shizuke had it not been clear that Shizuke gets bullied just as badly as they are. He’s probably worse off than most of us. While everyone else only has to deal with Damien if they’re unlucky enough to run into him, Shizuke has to deal with Damien all day, every day._

_Shizuke shifted uncomfortably and looked away, guilt evident in his face._

_“He-he said they deserve it for being saying mean things about me!”_

_“Did you ever hear them say mean things about you?”_

_Shizuke didn’t reply. He couldn’t say he did when he knows he didn’t. Bad liar._

_“Shizuke, Damien’s not being a friend to you, he’s a bully. Leave him and make actual friends.”_

_“No one else would want to be friends with someone like me,” he said quietly._

_Oh. So that’s why he doesn’t leave Damien. He’s desperate for friends and thinks he doesn’t have any other choice. Then I’ll give him one._

_“Not if you don’t let them,” I offered my hand out in a handshake. Shizuke just stared at my hand, confused. “I for one, want to be your friend. Will you let me?”_

_Honestly, I’m mostly doing this out of pity. The rest of the class also pities him. They just don’t do anything to help Shizuke because none of them wants to get on Damien’s bad side. Cowards._

_“Uh-uhm…” Shizuke’s face was turning redder and redder as he stared at my hand, then at my face, then back at my hand._

_What? Are handshakes not a thing from where he came from? I decided to just go for it and grabbed his hand and shook it. The boy made a squeaky sound and nearly dropped his – and Damien’s – P.E. uniform._

_“There. FRIENDS. Got it?”_

_As soon as I let go of his hand, he snatched it back like it was burnt and hid his face behind the shirts he was carrying. He started muttering something in rapid-fire Japanese, with the names ‘Damien-kun’ and ‘Kuznetsov-san’ thrown around from time to time. I didn’t need subtitles to tell from his tone that something is bothering him. He’s scared out of his wits. What’s with him? Before I can ask him that, he seemed to remember he wasn’t alone and snapped out of his external monologue._

_“Uh-uhm… I better go,” he finally said in English. ”See you next period, Kuznetsov-san!”_

_He bowed before he fled the classroom._

0-0-0-0-0

_I didn’t give up. I tried talking to him whenever I can catch him away from Damien. It was more difficult than I expected. Damien was making full use of his ‘best friend’._

_This isn’t the first time Damien got himself a ‘best friend’ and made them do everything for him. This is just the first time anyone’s lasted this long. All Damien’s past ‘best friends’ crack within the first month, and one way or another, they’d transfer out._

_Shizuke never once complained. He seems more afraid that Damien will stop being his friend than Damien himself. It became clear that he’s not going to leave on his own._

_I have to save him._

0-0-0-0-0

_It wasn’t a surprise for me to see Damien cornering Shizuke at the playground’s stone elephant slide. One of his goons told on Shizuke in hopes of getting into his good graces. Butt kisser._

_From what I can hear, Damien’s pissed off that I wanted to befriend Shizuke and not him when he’s the rich kid and Shizuke’s just a poor immigrant. So he blames Shizuke. How stupid can he be? This is why Keagan’s my only friend in rich people land. Everyone else is too drunk on their family’s power to be worth hanging out with._

_“You’re nowhere near the same fucking level! You’re lucky to even look at her! Just who do you think you are to talk to the Jewelry Princess?!”_

_Shizuke was prostrating down on the cold snowy ground. I approached from behind Damien. A quick glare at his three goons made them shut up about spotting me._

_“Well?! What the fuck do you have to say for yourself?!”_

_“GOMENASAI!!! I MEAN-I’M SORRY!!! I WON’T TALK TO KUZNETSOV-SAN EVER AGAIN!!!”_

_From the way his voice sounded nasally, he must be crying. I’m definitely gonna tear Damien a new one._

_“That’s not enough! You’ll never be good enough! You’ll always be a worthless little shit!”_

_Damien was about to slam his meaty fist down Shizuke’s head when I grabbed his wrist, making him stop and turn towards me._

_“What do you think you’re doing to my friend?”_

_Shizuke looked up from his prostrating position. His glasses were skewed, and for once, I can see his eyes. They looked red and puffy from crying. That made me grip Damien’s wrist tighter, my nails digging into his flesh made him wince in pain._

_“I was just putting him in place,” Damien said, his bronze eyes glaring at me. “He’s not worth your time, princess.”_

_My eye twitched at the nickname. I always hated being called that._

_“And who are you to decide that?”_

_Soon, our argument devolved into a fight, which – to everyone’s surprise – I won, even with the numbers stacked against me. I had the field advantage; I’m used to navigating around ice and snow. And it helped that they underestimated me. I’m a lot stronger than I look._

_I picked off Damien and his goons one by one in the playground. They all either got hit in the gut by the swings, slipped on ice by the seesaw, or had piles of snow dropped on them when we got to the monkey bars. All they could do was yell curse words at me as I kept slipping out of their grasps. Grampa always told me that to win a war one must take full advantage of the terrain and cripple your opponents as fast as possible._

_I may look like a porcelain doll, but I’m far from fragile. And now the whole school knows it._

0-0-0-0-0

_All six of us – namely, me, Shizuke, Damien and his three goons I can’t be bothered to remember the names of – were sent to the principal’s office. Damien and his goons were sniveling on the opposite side of the waiting area, huddled together for warmth. I’m wearing less layers than they are and yet I’m perfectly fine. Wimps._

_The principal called for a meeting with all our parents. As expected, Damien tried to get me expelled. It’s a good thing mama had Keagan’s parents on speed dial. After dragging Keagan’s parents into this, the principal had to play fair and just gave us all detention for a few days. And to think my parents were making such a huge fuss about making enemies out of the Guerreros._

_“Uhm… Uh…” Shizuke twiddled his fingers around a paper cup of hot chocolate and shoved it towards me. “Here!”_

_“Huh? What’s this for?” I was confused, but I reached out for the hot chocolate anyway. Can’t say no to free chocolate, even if it’s the cheap vendo machine kind._

_He fidgeted in place, his face turning red in embarrassment. “You were trying to warn me, but I didn’t listen and you were right and… and… I wanted to say thank you for saving me!” he finished with a bow._

_“Oh. You don’t need to thank me. That’s what friends are for.”_

_“F-friends?” he sounded doubtful._

_“Yes. Friends. They look out for each other not because they owe them, but because they care about them.”_

_“But Damien-kun said…”_

_“’Damien-kun’,” I said with disgust. “-is a butt and wasn’t acting like your friend! You don’t have to hang out with him anymore. I’m a much better friend than he is.”_

_“But I’m not good enough… I’ll never be good enough…” his voice was getting quieter and his gaze dropped to the floor._

_“Is that what he said?”_

_“He’s not the only one. Many others said that even before I moved here… It must be true.”_

_“Then they’re all dumb.”_

_Shizuke raised his head and looked gobsmacked at my conclusion._

_“Just because a lot of people say something, doesn’t mean it’s true. Take me for example. People say I’m like an adorable porcelain doll. A princess. But can a Jewelry Princess beat those losers all alone?” I pointed towards Damien and his goons with my thumb. “I don’t think so. I’m made of stronger stuff.”_

_Of all the reactions I was anticipating, I did not expect the mousy glasses boy to laugh, saying something about ‘Gahpu Moweh’._

_“Hey!” I huffed gently nudged him. He nearly fell over. I was going to apologize but he didn’t stop laughing while rubbing his arm. I take back any guilty feelings I had for shoving him. “What’s so funny?”_

_“You’re different from how I imagined you were like.”_

_“How did you imagine I was like?”_

_He muttered something under his breath, his cheeks turning red._

_“Say what?”_

_“NOTHING!!! YOU’RE JUST STRONGER THAN I THOUGHT YOU’D BE!!!”_

_Realizing he started yelling, Shizuke shrunk back and hid his red face behind his hands. With the hot chocolate in my hand feeling cool enough, I downed it in one go along with my irritation at not understanding what he just said. Whatever it is, I get the feeling I’ll be even more annoyed if I knew._

_“Got a problem with that?” I sternly said, doing my best to imitate Mama when dealing with rowdy customers at her tattoo shop._

_Shizuke shook his head in denial, not removing his hands from his ever-reddening face._

_“Good. I’m sure we’ll be good friends,” I said, prying his hands away from his face._

_“Y-yes Kuznetsov-san!”_

_“It’s Fiona.”_

_“What?”_

_“My name, silly. Kuznetsov-san sounds too formal, and I don’t like formal. You can call me Fiona.”_

_For some reason, instead of making him feel less stiff around me, he just got more flustered. It wasn’t until later in life that I learned that people in his culture only start calling each other by given name if they’re close. And the fact that Shizuke is easily flustered in general._

_“F-F-Fuyu…”_

_“Fuyu?” I said, testing out the sound of it. It’s not as girly sounding as Fiona or grampa’s nickname for me, Fiya, but sounds close enough that it feels like it’s still my name…_

_“I-I’m sorry! I meant to say-“_

_“It’s okay. I like it. You can call me Fuyu from now on.”_

_“O-okay, Fuyu. It suits you, actually.”_

_“Hm?”_

_“In Japanese, it means ‘winter’. You seem comfortable in the cold… It’s like you’re at home with the ice and snow.”_

_That moment, I knew that this was the start of a great friendship._

0-0-0-0-0

A lot has changed since then.

For one thing, my reputation as a porcelain doll went down the gutter. I got into fights with Damien and his goons so often, people finally got it into their heads that I’m a badass. Sometimes, it’s to defend Shizu. Sometimes, it’s to defend some other nerd he decided would be easier prey. Even if I got in trouble a lot for it, I have no regrets. I’m never going back to the days when I used to standby doing nothing while letting others do what I think is wrong. Even after Damien stopped joining in those fights and just left it to his goons, I never stopped picking fights with them whenever I see them bullying others. Finally! Something I’m good at!

There was one time when Damien started the fight by cutting off one of my pigtails. Papa nearly fainted when I went home that day. Mama just shrugged and cut off the other one. I never went back to pigtails since. As I got older, I stopped wearing dresses and started dressing more like Mama and Gav. For my thirteenth birthday, Mama and Papa finally let me get an extra pair of piercings on my left ear just because I thought it was cool. For my fourteenth, Grampa sent me a pair of combat boots. Last Christmas, Kaji got me a pair of silver headphones for Secret Santa. I look nothing like the doll-like princess of jewelry people used to admire me as. I never wanted to go back to that.

I’m no longer the Jewelry Princess only to be admired from afar. I’m a strong fighter who can protect herself and others…

The minute I saw the names of the people Shizu’s grouped with, I knew I had to be there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone asks and points out this minor inconsistency, the reason Shizuke didn't butcher Fiona's last name, Kuznetsov, was because he had a lot of practice with it around Damien – who had a bit of a crush on Fiona at the time. He was 'friends' with Damien for like, almost five months, so I'm sure he would've been able to pronounce that right by the time Fiona confronts him. The reason why he butchered her name later on was because of the context of their meeting then. This time, he's meeting her as a friend and she just saved his butt. And the fact that he had a bit of a crush on her at the time didn't help.
> 
> Yes, the Mr Ross here is the same teacher from Chapter 1 and he’s currently the main protags’ homeroom teacher as well as their social studies/history teacher.


	2. Joining Them Is Hard When They're Not Letting You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you can't beat them, join them.

**Shizuke**

Cuff Links? Check.  
Cookies? Check.  
Phone? Check.  
Teaching materials? Check.

I sat on the side of my bed with my backpack open as I tallied everything I’m going to need for the day.

“Are you sure you’re not forgetting something?” said Tikki.

“Huh?” I scrunched my nose in concentration. I’m pretty sure I double checked everything…

Tikki flew over to my nightstand and put my glasses on my face.

“Oh. Right,” I fixed my fake glasses on my face and smiled at my kwami. “Thanks, Tikki. It’s been almost five months and I still keep forgetting about that.”

Ever since I got my miraculous, my eyesight was fixed and I no longer need my glasses. But since I’ve been wearing them for so long and my eyesight used to be so bad I was practically blind without them, people will surely ask questions if I suddenly stopped wearing them. I’ve learned that it’s best that the less there is to question, the less I have to lie.

“You’re welcome,” Tikki said with mild amusement.

I lifted up my bag, feeling its weight for a bit to get used to it. I paced around my room, going through everything I might have missed.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine. You’ve been planning this lesson for a week,” Tikki encouraged.

“I know. It’s just this is my first time teaching a bunch of kids, and my groupmates aren’t… ideal.”

“It’ll work out. You said so yourself, Damien and Natalia are good at Art, so it might not be so bad.”

“It’s not their skills I’m worried about. Out of everyone in our year level, I’d say they’re among the most talented. It’s just that _we don’t get along_.”

And that’s an understatement.

“You and Chat Noire didn’t get along at first, but now you’re-“

I felt my heart beat rise at Tikki’s analogy. “It’s not the same!”

“Yeah right,” Tikki giggled as I tried to push Chat Noire out of my head and control the redness of my face. I’ve never told Tikki about my past. It’s not something I like to think about, much less talk about.

“My situation with Chat Noire was nowhere near as bad as Damien and Natalia. At least Chat Noire was willing to cooperate.”

“It is if you have the perspectives switched. Why not take a page out of Chat Noire’s book and be the first to give the others a chance?”

“It’s not that easy, Tikki. Unlike with Chat Noire, we have a bad history together. With Natalia, I don’t know what her problem is. We just never got along and she always hated me. With Damien… I don’t think I can just forgive him and act as if none of it happened…”

Third grade was a horrible time for me. I was a new kid at a new country where I can barely speak the native language. No one wanted to talk to me except Damien. I thought he was my friend but I was actually more of a servant to him. He always made me doubt myself, my worth, told me I should be grateful to be his friend because no one else would want to be friends with me...

I clenched my fists to calm myself down. Fuyu already got me out of that toxic friendship. There’s no need for me to keep thinking back to those days. While he never apologized, he hasn’t bothered me in years, and we’ve never been in the same class since third grade. I have better friends now, even if one of them is crazy enough to jump at akumas whenever he gets the chance.

“I’m not saying you have to forgive them,” Tikki gently said. “Forgiving isn’t easy. Just don’t close off all chances for it, if only for your own sake. Holding on to grudges isn’t good for anyone.”

“That’s something to consider. But maybe in the distant future when they’re not actively trying to be difficult around me.”

“I’m sure the three of you could reach a truce, if only for this task.”

“… Okay. Even if we never truly get along, I’ll try to get a decent working relationship with them.”

“SHIZUKE! BREAKFAST IS READY!” my grandmother yelled from the kitchen.

My stomach growled at the smell of grandmother’s omelets wafting through the door.

“COMING GRANDMA!” I yelled back.

“No time to waste worrying about the rest of the day. Just go out there and do it,” Tikki said before zooming into my bag.

“I’ve got a busy day ahead of me. I’ll do my best!” I muttered to get myself pumped up before leaving my room.

0-0-0-0-0

Xyril Tech is a prestigious school in Helios. It has an elementary, a junior high school, and a senior high school department that holds two to three hundred students in each year level divided into six classes. The funding put into it allowed it to have several great facilities: state of the art equipment, laboratories, a theatre building, libraries, gymnasiums, swimming pools, various fields dedicated to sports, and even its very own clock tower at the very center of the school grounds.

The school’s founder who values bonds and education started a tradition called Education Week. Every year in the first week of February, students from the more advanced department get to teach students from the lower years for a day. Just yesterday, students from the senior high school department taught us students from the junior high school department. Today, it’s us from the junior high school department teacher students from the elementary department. The founder believed it to be conducive to learning if the students get to be in the teachers’ shoes – at least, that’s what Kaji told me when I asked the reasoning behind this school’s tradition.

All the student teachers are volunteers and are often grouped by threes for each class they’re assigned to. As this activity gives extra credits for the participants, I had to volunteer. With all the absences I had to take because of hero work, I’m going to need to stock up on all the extra credits I can get if I want to keep my scholarship. I just have to brave through the day with two of my least favorite people in school.

“You don’t have to come, Fuyu. I’ll be fine,” I insisted, but the petite pink haired girl stubbornly walked by my side and refused to let go of my teaching materials.

I was walking towards the elementary department when Fuyu snatched my bag and insisted she came along ‘just in case’. So now we’re here, making our way down to my class on this bright, almost-Spring day, walking down an old cobblestone path surrounded by a lush garden partially covered with snow.

“You’ll be alone with your childhood bully and his sidekick in a room full of screaming children. I don’t know about you Shizu, but that looks like a disaster waiting to happen.”

That’s exactly how I saw it this morning too. But Tikki’s optimism is contagious and I won’t get anywhere if I keep letting my doubts bring me down.

“I’m sure we can set aside our differences for the task ahead.”

Fuyu eyed me with her critical icy blue gaze. “Huh. You’re handling this better than I thought you would.”

“So would you please let me handle this on my own?”

“I’m still not fully convinced.”

“Fuuuyuuu.”

Fuyu shuffled my bag so she can punch me in the arm, making me wince in mild pain. To her, this is a ‘gentle nudge’. “I’m just looking out for you, stupid nerd.”

She can be such a tsundere sometimes.

“But what about Kaji? He’s grouped with…” I looked around our surroundings; nothing but trees and an empty stone pathway towards the elementary department’s playground. All clear. But I still lowered my voice just in case someone overhears. “He’s grouped with _Hawkmoth_.”

Kaji also volunteered, but sadly he wasn’t assigned as my groupmate. He’s with the twins. Why couldn’t I trade one of my groupmates for Kaji? It’s because the teachers said so and not even Kaji’s ‘Mayor’s Son’ powers could persuade them to change it.

“Shizu, I’ve been considering that for a while now, but I’m starting to agree with Kaji. Blair’s probably not Hawkmoth.”

“Wha- I thought you were on MY side on this!”

“I was, but then I thought: What kind of supervillain would sabotage her own akuma? You saw the Stud Muffin incident. She even had the perfect chance to snatch Ladybug’s Miraculous but she took the first chance she could to get away from him. She seemed awfully proud of herself for that, nothing like a villain who once again failed to get the Miraculous.”

“It could all be a manipulation tactic to get us to trust her!”

“Why would she need to get _our_ trust?”

“Because of the Ladyblog? Kaji does get to interview the heroes a lot. She’s just waiting for an opportunity to tag along with Kaji the next time he interviews the heroes.”

“Then why is she flirting with _you_ and not Kaji?”

“Uhm…” I looked around the area before whispering in an even lower voice, “Because of my akuma chart?”

If Blair is Hawkmoth, she might very well be suspecting me to be Ladybug. Times like these, I find it really frustrating that I can’t just tell Fuyu who I am. But I know the risks and it’s not worth it so I’ll keep hiding the fact that I’m Ladybug for now.

“Now why would she need a list of the villains she supposedly made herself?”

“To uh… See if I might figure out her secret identity with it? Or if I could map out her evil lair? Maybe she’s trying to-”

“If that’s the case, then she wouldn’t need to see your chart to know she has to shake up her attack pattern to throw you off. Face it Shizu, the girl just has a weird crush on you.”

“But Fuyu!” I bit my tongue when I realized I was yelling. Again. I took a deep breath to calm myself down and managed to keep my voice just low enough to count as a whisper. “It can’t be a coincidence! Akumas appear where she’s supposed to be almost all the time, and yet she’s almost always never found!”

Fuyu let out a ragged sigh. “We’ve been over this. She’s probably doing the smart thing during the akuma attacks and hid like a normal powerless civilian. Just like you always do.”

“Y-yes. I hide well. That’s what I do. Staying away from danger. That’s me.”

Fuyu’s piercing gaze narrowed at me with suspicion. “Or were you?”

“Civilians should not get themselves involved when it comes to akuma! It’s not safe! It’s common sense!” I yelled at the top of my lungs to push my point.

Fuyu’s gaze softened, “… I wish Kaji had common sense.”

“Same,” I said in a much quieter voice. I don’t have to lie for this one.

Up ahead was the elementary department’s playground. The snow-covered shrubs surrounding it, the creaky swing set, the rusty seesaw, the monkey bars, the stone elephant slide – it’s just as I remembered it, but it seems smaller. The cobblestone path feels much shorter than I remember… Everything doesn’t look as big as it used to. It’s been a while since I’ve been here.

I thought we’d have more time, but we’re almost there. There’s no getting rid of Fuyu now. It’s actually a small comfort to have her around. With Tikki in my sweater vest pocket and Fuyu standing nearby, I’m surer than ever that I’ll get through this!

0-0-0-0-0

Approaching my assigned classroom, I spotted a teacher talking to a blonde girl dressed in a short black-striped white sundress and a knitted yellow cardigan. Standing quietly next to her was a large brown skinned boy with spiky black hair wearing a black band shirt and a pair of khaki cargo pants. My groupmates.

I shuddered in place. Fuyu nudged me at my side, reminding me of her presence. I ignored the smug look on her face and powerwalked towards my group.

“Just stick to the lesson plan I left you, okay?”

Damien curtly nodded, his spiky black hair swaying a bit with his head. “Yes, sir.”

“You can count on us,” Natalia flashed a smile as sweet as honey, looking like the nicest girl in the world. I’m not fooled. I knew better.

“Good. Now, where is your groupmate?”

“I’m here!” I announced my presence. “I brought all the materials for the lesson.”

Fuyu, knowing her cue, presented the bag bursting with an assortment of different colored yarns and beads for everyone to see. Damien took the bag from her and he and Natalia discussed the lesson plan.

The teacher looked skeptical at her presence. “Who’s this?”

Oh right, I haven’t told the teacher about Fuyu joining us. “This is my friend, Fiona Kuznetsov. She’s just here to-“

“Ah!” the teacher’s eyes brightened with recognition. He bounced over to her and vigorously shook her hand. “You’re the daughter of the famous jewelry designer! I’m a huge fan of your father’s work! What’s it like having him for a father? I taught your older brother a few years back and he was the best student I’ve ever had. Surely some of their talents rubbed off on you. Are you here to help them teach art?”

“Uh…” Fuyu took a step away from the excited teacher, wrung her hand out of his grip, and tried her best to avoid his gaze without looking rude. His onslaught of questions could leave anyone in a daze, but that’s not what’s making her skittish.

Fuyu is the daughter of Feodor Kuznetsov, the top jewelry designer of the internationally famous formal wear company, _Hera_. He’s also married to a talented tattoo artist who runs a successful tattoo and piercings shop. With those kinds of parents, people tend to assume both of their kids are gifted in arts and crafts. Too bad her older brother took all of the artistic genes and didn’t leave a drop for poor Fuyu.

Fuyu tried to correct him on her reason for staying here, but the teacher is too happy with the assumption to hear her protests.

“Great! I’ll go tell the kids they’re getting an extra special teacher today! Be right back!”

The teacher disappeared behind the door, excitedly muttering something about shaking hands with the Jewelry Princess, leaving the four of us to ourselves.

Natalia dropped her sweet smile in favor of a venomous scowl. What a two-face. “Great. Just what we need. Another art flunky.”

Before I can say anything in our defense, Fuyu strode forward with a low growl. I grabbed her arm to prevent her from getting any closer to the annoying blonde. As much as I dislike Natalia, she probably doesn’t deserve a punch to the face for that jab- even if it’s a personal jab. A very personal jab that hurt my best friend’s feelings. I shook my head to stop thinking of reasons to sic Fuyu on the blonde jerk and pulled Fuyu back.

Fuyu shot an icy cold glare at me, but I stood firm.

“Fuyu, she’s not worth it. Calm down.”

Fuyu ignored me and redirected her icy glare towards Natalia.

“You stupid blonde bimbo…” Fuyu glowered. “At least I’m not dumb enough to mix yellow with white. What an eyesore!”

“Why you little punk midget-“

“Say that again and I’ll tear you a new one!” Fuyu growled, the jab on her height taking her anger to a new level. I’m barely holding her back at this point.

Natalia’s eyes glinted in challenge and slowly said, “Why you TINY ITTY BITTY LITTLE PUNK MIDGET!”

Fuyu broke free of my hold with a roar and charged towards Natalia. To Natalia’s credit, she didn’t even flinch even though we all knew she had no fighting skills whatsoever.

“Enough!” Damien got between the two girls, preventing Fuyu from taking another step. The boy is a mountain of bulk that blocked Natalia from our view. While Damien may be almost half a meter taller than Fuyu, that doesn’t scare her. Her icy glare met his steady gaze, neither backing off.

“Students, it’s time!” the teacher chimed. He was all smiles until he saw the four of us. “Is everything alright…?”

Natalia instantly reapplies her good girl act and smiles at the teacher. “Everything’s alright sir, we were just discussing the lesson plan to the new addition as Shizuke neglected to inform her.”

“Oh,” that simple remark is dripping with disappointment.

This time, it was Fuyu who’s stopping me from lunging at the obnoxious blonde. The teacher didn’t notice our struggle because Damien’s stocky build is conveniently blocking the view.

“Alright then. When you get everything settled, you can begin the lesson. Good luck!”

And the teacher left us with his class.

“We’re not actually going to let her teach, are we?” Natalia pointed at Fuyu with a tone of disgust, not even looking at us.

“If you have something to say, tell it straight to our faces!” I scolded, but they acted like they didn’t hear us.

Damien shrugged. “If she doesn’t at least try, the students will surely talk.”

“So what? She’s not even a volunteer,” Natalia continued talking to Damien as if Fuyu and I aren’t here.

“Stop ignoring us! That’s rude!” I yelled.

“Then what if the kids force her to teach them? The teacher already gave her some hype,” Damien said as he continued to ignore my existence as usual.

“Then we stop her from punching the little twerps out of annoyance,” Natalia swept her long blonde hair behind an ear. “We shouldn’t let her throw our extra credits out the window.”

“We can still hear you, you jerks!” Fuyu said, glaring at them.

“Good point,” Damien said.

“It’s bad enough we’ve got Shizu-can’t-keep-my-mouth-shut Midorikawa on our team. What does he know about art? The only art he can do are those numbered coloring books for pre-schoolers.”

“Let’s just start the lesson!” I said, having enough of them bad mouthing me, acting like I’m not around to hear them. I dragged Fuyu with me as I made my way past the two jerks and entered the classroom.

I was greeted with the sight of chaos.

Paint was splattered everywhere, paper airplanes were flying in the air, children were screaming, jumping on tables, and throwing balls of paper and paint at each other, and there was one curly haired boy crying in the corner.

I almost felt like joining the boy. But I have to be strong. DO IT FOR THE CHILDREN!!!

“Children! May I have your attention, please?!”

They continued to wail at each other. So it’s a ‘no’ then.

Fuyu slammed her fist onto the teacher’s desk to gain their attention. “HEY!”

Still a ‘no’.

“WILL YOU RUGRATS SHUT THE FUDGE UP?!?!” yelled Natalia, entering the room with her face contorted in anger. Damien was looking effortlessly intimidating by her side.

The children finally stopped.

Natalia rewarded them with a sickeningly sweet but obviously fake smile.

“Good children,” Natalia strode towards the board, writing the words ‘Woven Bracelets’ in colorful chalk. She wrote each letter in a different style with different colored chalk, all still neat and legible. I still hate her, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate good penmanship when I see it.

“Okay class,” Damien said, taking over the introductions. “I’m Damien Guerrero, and this is Natalia Hale. We’re here to teach you how to make bracelets.”

And now they’re pretending I’m not even here. I shouldn’t have expected any better.

“So you little snot-nosed brats better pay attention,” Natalia said, her words not matching that sweet smile on her face.

I prayed to every god I knew to please give me the strength I will need to get through the day.

0-0-0-0-0

**Blair**

Ah, Education Week. It’s that time of the year where teachers can sit back, relax, and watch students make a fool of themselves as they take over their jobs for a week. And the reward? Extra credit. That’s it. Which is great for nerds and the flunkies who need it, but not so great for those who are perfectly content with just getting by on average grades and not repeating another year.

Take us for example.

“Just one more lap kiddies, and it’s free time for the rest of the period!” Keagan yelled from the bleachers as the class ran in the track field.

“You guys sure this is okay?” Blake asked while looking like a hypocrite by joining us in the bleachers with a cold can of soda.

“Sure it is. No one takes Gym class seriously anyway,” I laid down on the bleachers with my arms crossed behind my head as I basked under the bright midmorning sun.

The three of us are here against our will. Keagan’s here because he’s the mayor’s son and volunteering to teach kids makes good press (even though he’s actually slacking off). My brother and I are here because of _Aphrodite_ , the company in charge of paying for our tuition so long as we join every school activity decked in her clothes. Together, the three of us form team compulsory.

It’s not so bad. We just get Gym for most of the morning, I’ll leave the history lessons to Blake, and then there’s Science, English, and Math in the afternoon.

Our sunbathing time was cut off when we heard cries from the other end of the track field. The kids were crowding around one corner. We ran as fast as we can towards them. From what I can pick out, one of them fainted.

“Settle down kids,” I said with authority as I parted the crowd.

The kids obediently quieted down to whispers. There, lying on the grass in the middle was the smallest boy in class. He’s a skinny little boy with light silvery hair. His pale skin has gone red and he was breathing heavily.

The drama club could sure use a kid like him.

Blake kneeled down and lifted the kid just enough to sit upright. “You okay, Zephyr?”

The boy, Zephyr, looked up at him with a dazed look. “I’m fine, uh… Miss Blair, right?”

“Close enough,” Blake said, completely deadpan.

“Blake, take him to the clinic,” I said, managing not to smirk as the little boy subtly winked at me. “Keagan and I can take over.”

Keagan eagerly nodded. “Yeah, Blake. Don’t worry about us. We can handle it.”

Blake shot us a dubious look but didn’t argue. He wrapped one arm around Zephyr’s back and his other arm around the boy’s legs. With a huff, he lifted Zephyr off the ground. He said to the group of children, “Any of you know where the clinic is?”

After one girl volunteered, a curious little girl with dirty blonde pigtails, Keagan and I declared the rest of Gym to be free period.

“Try not to get heatstroke kidlets!” I called after them, as they ran off across the field.

Now that our paid little con artist has taken my brother out of hearing range, Keagan and I can finally get back to business. I turned to my partner-in-crime for the day.

“So I hear Natalia’s in the same group as Shizuke. You got their sched, right?”

Keagan flashed his trademark shipping grin. For once, I’m not annoyed to see it.

“Oh yeah. Let’s get this ship sailing!”

0-0-0-0-0

**Shizuke**

The lesson went on with little trouble. With Damien’s natural talent for intimidation, none of the kids dared invoke the giant’s wrath. It’s either that or Natalia is a creature that both scares them with her sharp tongue and confuses them with her honey sweet smile.

“And that’s how you make a basic bracelet,” said Natalia, showing off her pink friendship bracelet. “Now, I’ll teach you a more complex pattern.”

I wasn’t able to teach, and it’s not for lack of trying. Natalia spoke louder and shoves me aside whenever I tried to lecture. Damien continued to pretend I didn’t exist. Together, they completely hogged the lesson.

Fuyu is patting me on the back in a silent show of support. Since they’re never going to give me a turn, I decided to make myself useful and clean up the mess the kids made. Fuyu and I grabbed a couple of wet rags and started wiping off the paint on the back wall.

“Uhm… Excuse me?”

One of the kids approached us in our sad little corner. It was that curly haired boy who was crying earlier. The little boy was looking down at the floor, his curly black hair covering half of his brown face, and his ears were burning red. I was going to ask him if there’s something wrong when he shoved his little hands out from behind his back and presented us with yarn strings of different colors and wooden beads.

“M-m-my name’s Dylan. P-p-please… Please help me make a bracelet for my big brother,” he squeaked, raising his head to face us.

Finally! A chance to get some teaching experience!

“Oh, sure! I’ll be happy to-“

“I want to make the very b-b-bestest bracelet for him, a-and who better to help than the Jewelry Princess!”

All my hopes were instantly sunk.

Fuyu’s eye was twitching with annoyance at her hated nickname, but she held it all in if only because this is a child she’s talking to and he didn’t know any better.

“I’m sorry, you got it all wrong. I’m not here to teach.”

Dylan’s posture sagged down. His gaze looked away from us, clearly crestfallen. It felt like we just kicked a puppy. “Oh. I’m sorry to bother you…”

“Wait!” I called out to stop the boy from returning to his seat.

Dylan looked back at us with a face that seems to be trying to look neutral but only looks even sadder.

“I can help you!”

“Really?” he asked, hope sparkling in his brown eyes the way Kaji’s does whenever Ladybug and Chat Noire agrees to do an interview. Good thing I was planning to say yes anyway.

I pulled out a sample of my work. While nowhere near as intricate as the ones Natalia is currently making, it’s a simple design with every thread woven tightly. “I prepared for this lesson, and I think I could do a decent job teaching you the basics.”

The little boy examined my work. Pride welled up in my chest to see him impressed with my handiwork. The boy gave me a small smile. “I think it’s good. Please teach me.”

Natalia can have the rest of the class if she wants! I got the nicest kid in the room to teach!

0-0-0-0-0

Half an hour went by teaching the shy little boy how to make a bracelet. From time to time, kids would to ask for _Fuyu’s_ help in making bracelets but wouldn’t let _me_ teach them. They thought Fuyu’s giving tips. Fuyu promptly shooed them away. We planned the pattern, Fuyu dropping dry commentary from time to time, and we braided the strings tightly with the beads carefully woven in equal distance from each other.

“Now tie this nice and tightly over here, and there you go! It’s done!”

And the end result is… Is it really a bracelet? How huge is his brother’s wrist anyway? Fuyu could wear that bracelet as a choker!

“It’s finished! We did it!” Dylan exclaimed as he raised the red and blue bracelet for us to see, looking just about ready to cry.

Oh well. The kid’s happy. All’s well that ends well.

I beamed with pride and ruffled the boy’s curly hair. “Your big brother would love it!”

“You think so?” Dylan asked, sounding doubtful yet hopeful at the same time. My heart felt a tug at this. I can so relate to this kid.

I emulated Chat Noire’s confidence and said, “I know so.”

“Thanks, uh…” Dylan sheepishly scratched his cheek. “I never got your name.”

“My name is Shizuke. Shizuke Midorikawa.”

Dylan hummed. “That name sounds familiar… Where have I heard it before?”

“Maybe you heard it from the other times he volunteered for this teaching tradition? He does this every year since junior high,” Fuyu suggested.

The boy scrunched up his brows in concentration, before shrugging and going with Fuyu’s answer. For some reason, my stomach felt queasy. I get the feeling that there’s more to it than that.

My instincts alerted me that someone is watching me.

From across the room, Damien was staring at our table. That’s strange. For the past six years, he’s been perfectly content pretending I don’t exist. As soon as our eyes met, he looked away.

What was that about?

0-0-0-0-0


	3. Hate Can Be Just As Blind As Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Love is blind)

**Blair**

While Blake is busy taking the kid I bribed to the clinic, I'm out here on an errand to fetch my potential future sister-in-law. According to Keagan, Natalia's group is in the science lab, which is only like two rooms away, right next to the bathrooms.

"And remember children, don't try any of this at home, or else you'll burn your house to the ground," Natalia finished her lesson with a flourish.

Peeking into the room, I find it odd that Natalia and Damien are teaching the lesson while Shizuke's just quietly mopping the floor. Oh, and Fiona’s there too, glaring daggers at Natalia and Damien. Keagan told me they’re not on friendly terms, but I didn't think it would stop Shizuke from teaching kids like he's been raving on about last week.

But heh, not my problem.

I went in the ladies' room and hid in a stall. It's only five minutes 'til dismissal and knowing Natalia, she'd go straight to the nearest mirror as soon as the bell rings. That's when I'll casually walk up to her, chat for a bit, then ask her to join us for lunch.

"This is too much work. Why don't you just text her?" Plagg whined, his head popping out of my purse.

I shoved the kwami back down. "Because Plagg, I don't want her catching on to my plans."

"Meh. If your brother is as hot as people say he is, he shouldn't have a problem asking her out."

"Well unfortunately, my brother has a tendency to chicken out whenever he tries to ask her out himself. Haven't you been listening whenever he moons about how hopeless he is around her?"

Plagg picked his ear. I didn't think he can reach them with those stubby little arms, but he's actually doing it. "My ears automatically tuned him out. Centuries of having lovesick idiots for charges made me develop that reflex."

"How I wish I can do that too."

While I'd take a bullet for him in a heartbeat, there's only so much pining I am willing to put up with from my _dearest_ brother.

The bell rang, signaling the start of lunch break. Not long after, the door creaked open and I saw just the person I was waiting for. I flushed the toilet, walked out of the stall and pretended to be surprised when I saw her.

"Oh, hey ‘Talia! It’s been a while!”

Natalia pulled her eyes off the mirror and plastered on her standard friendly smile for me. “Hello, Blair.”

“Fancy meeting you here.”

“Well, we’re both assigned in the same building, so we’re bound to meet at some point,” Natalia said, in that know-it-all tone like she’s reciting trivia to children.

“How do you know?” I asked, easing us into small talk before I go in for the kill.

“Shizuke won’t stop complaining about how he wishes he can switch places with you twins so he can be teaching History with Keagan instead,” she huffs, blowing her bangs up. She went back to fixing her hair in the mirror and continued her rant. “The weirdo thinks we can’t hear him mumbling about it out loud as he mopped the floor right next to us. I swear his parents must’ve dropped him when he was a baby and his brain-to-mouth filter never fully recovered.”

Well, at least the guy’s honest. If there’s one thing I don’t like about Natalia, it’s her ‘two-face-iness’. It’s something she developed at some point during puberty. But Blakey still likes her, warts and all. And she’s not that bad, once you get to know her. Like, really get to know her. It gets easier once you can tell apart her jokes from her insults.

“Speaking of, I heard some crazy rumors floating about how you’re interested in that nerd,” Natalia laughed so hard, she was clutching her stomach. “Crazy, isn’t it? As if you’d go for a guy like him! You have better taste than _that_!”

Oh ‘Talia, if only you knew. Honestly, I’m not quite sure if I like Shizuke that way. He’s always fun to tease, and I’d like us to hang out for reals, but is that enough to count as a crush? I’m not entirely opposed to the possibility but… Wait a minute, this is a good opening! Time to put my modelling skills to good use!

“Hahaha. Now that you mention it…” I said, willing my cheeks to fluster as I try to look coy. I can imagine what that photographer from the other day would say: _‘That’s it, seniorita! Smile like a pure maiden experiencing amor for the very first time’._

Natalia looked scandalized. “No way.”

_Hook._

I nodded with a dopey grin. “Tee hee.”

Natalia’s gaping mouth morphed into a frown full of grim determination. “Girl! We. Have. Got. To. Talk. About. THIS.”

_Line._

“Sure thing.”

Natalia hooked her arm around mine and practically dragged me out towards the cafeteria. “Let’s have lunch together! I’ll even treat you!”

_Sinker._

Nothing lures Natalia in like a love story. The girl’s such a hopeless romantic, almost as bad as Keagan. I didn’t even have to invite her to have lunch with us if I had a good love story to bait her with.

Operation TaliaBlake is a go!

0-0-0-0-0

**Shizuke**

Much to my relief, Natalia didn’t return from fixing her makeup when the lunch bell rang. Damien and the kids ran out of the lab, leaving a mess for me to clean up. Sigh… So much for working together as a group. At least Fuyu’s here to help me. She’s cleaning the white board while I’m wiping the desks.

I heard the clinking of glass, so I looked around the room and spotted Dylan putting the used beakers into a tray.

“You don’t have to do this,” I said as I took the tray of beakers out of his hand and placed it into the sink. “Didn’t you say you were gonna meet up with your brother for lunch?”

“B-but I want to help you,” Dylan insisted with puppy dog eyes. “It’s the least I could do after you helped me make that bracelet.”

Aww… He’s such a nice kid.

“Okay, fine. The more of us cleaning up, the faster we finish. Just be careful, alright?”

Dylan nodded eagerly and went to work. Whoever has this kid for a younger brother sure is lucky.

0-0-0-0-0

**Blair**

“Hey guys! Look who’s joining us!”

Keagan and Blake looked up from their respective phones to see the guest of honor this lunch.

“’T-T-Talia?!” Blake’s face was growing redder with each step Natalia took to our lunch table.

“Hey Blake!” Natalia cheerfully waved and then she noticed our other guest and gave him a stiff smile. “Keagan.”

Should I take her lack of enthusiasm in greeting the school prince as a good sign? Like, I should be happy that princey here isn’t gonna be a love rival even though he’s kinda her type?

The school prince himself threw an equally artificial smile at her.

“Hello to you too, Natalia.”

Is passive-aggressive anger a running trend among Shizuke’s group of friends? Then again, Keagan was pretty thrilled at setting up Blake and Natalia, so I don’t think he’s holding a serious grudge against her.

I sat myself next to Keagan so Natalia will have no choice but to share a bench with Blake. Natalia looked like she was about to start grilling me about my love life, but Blake beat her to it by standing up and grabbing me by the arm.

“Excuse us,” he said as he dragged me away from the lunch table.

“WHY?! What do you need to talk about that can’t wait ‘til later?” Natalia whined, upset that her latest source of love gossip is slipping away.

Blake shot Natalia his best poker face.

I shot Natalia my usual grin.

“Twinly matters,” we said at the same time in completely different tones.

0-0-0-0-0

Once we ducked into a corner, Blake glared at me.

“What are you scheming?” he said with narrowed emerald eyes that could’ve intimidated anybody. But I’m not just anybody so I just I shrugged.

“I’m just giving you the golden opportunity to ask out the girl of your dreams, bro.”

Blake’s eyes narrowed even more. “No.”

I pouted. “Why not? I’m an awesome wingwoman!”

“Remember the last time you tried to set us up?”

Oh I remember it like it was yesterday…

0-0-0-0-0

_Two months ago…_

_“Thanks for coming here to help us ‘Talia! You’re a real life saver!” I said, ushering the blonde girl into the Liungs’ apartment._

_“It’s no big deal. Science is my best subject and I’m always happy to help a friend,” Natalia cheerfully said._

_I resisted the urge to smirk. I may not be the best at that subject, but I’m not bad enough that I need a tutor. No, she’s here for something much more important._

_“C’mon! I have everything prepared for our group study.”_

_We went into a room that looked identical to mine… except where I had a mini-fridge and a shelf of action figures on display, this room had two bookshelves full of comic books. I let her settle down on the woollen rug with plenty of pillows I threw in at the last minute and laid out her coat over Blake’s bed. Everything is set. Blake should be coming up here in 3… 2… 1…_

_“Blair! Where did you hide my clothes?! This isn’t funny!” Blake’s shouts can be heard from outside before he slammed the door open, stomping into his room soaking wet and wearing nothing but a towel, completely oblivious to Natalia who was sitting in a corner turning redder by the minute while biting back her ‘squee’. “Natalia could be here any minute and I’m not even-“_

_Blake paused when he noticed a very pink and very girly coat spread out on his bed that can’t possibly belong to moi. He turned around and spotted Natalia, standing there gaping at him, her face as red as our hair. As embarrassment and mortification was fighting for dominance over his face, his grip on reality loosened as well as his grip on his towel._

_Natalia squeaked and blocked her eyes. Or rather, that’s what she was trying to do but forgot to close the gap between her fingers that’s wide enough to let her see my half-naked brother anyway._

_Luckily for me (and maybe unfortunately for Natalia), Blake remembered where he is and managed to salvage the last scrap of his decency._

_I broke the long and awkward silence by saying, “I’m just gonna go get us some snacks.”_

_“Let me help you!” Natalia squeaked, scurrying out of the room to follow me._

_For the rest of the study session, Blake and Natalia couldn’t look each other in the eye, blushing madly whenever they so much as hear the other speak. In a twisted sort of way, my plan worked. There’s no denying there’s a spark there. This is the beginning of my brother’s rom-com!_

0-0-0-0-0

“Look on the bright side; now she knows your abs from last year’s summer swimsuit collection weren't Photoshopped,~” I gave my bro my best optimistic smile and a pair of finger guns.

Blake merely rolled his eyes at my teasing. “And what exactly does that achieve?”

I grinned like a Cheshire Cat at my poor clueless twin brother.

“To get the ball rolling. Because you’re too chicken to ask her out yourself, I’ll give her reasons to consider asking you out instead.”

“Clearly, nothing came out of that ploy.”

“Really, bro? That was actually the most progress you made in months.”

Blake was about to retort when I went on to explain why I’m right and he’s wrong.

“She seems attracted to you, even if it’s just your looks. Shallow, I know, but isn’t that where it starts for most people? You can worry about deepening your reasons when you actually have a relationship to make a fuss about.”

Blake stood quietly, taking a minute or two to mull over my words. Then he finally said, “Since when are you a love expert?”

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, I’m no love expert. But I know that like in anything else unrelated to love, you won’t get anywhere if you don’t take any steps towards it.”

Blake looked like he wanted to fight me more, if only for his pride as the ‘wiser twin’. But logic was on my side and he gave in. “… Fine. I see your point.”

“Great! Watching you moon about her but not do anything was getting old. So for my new plan, I had to enlist some help…”

Blake gave me an unimpressed look. “Who did you get?”

“Keagan.”

Blake made a sourpuss face. “So you told him about my crush on Natalia?”

“Yep.” 

“And by proxy, Fiona and Shizuke know too.”

“Probably.”

Blake let out a long suffering sigh before returning us to our lunch table.

0-0-0-0-0

Things were going smoothly… Until they were not.

As soon as we returned, Natalia bombarded me with questions about my feelings for Shizuke. Keagan was putting on a good act by happily taking notes on my so-called crush on his best friend. At least, I hope it’s an act. I did warn him that my crush on Shizuke is just a ruse. Blake only pretended to pay attention to his dearest sister’s love crisis while rolling his eyes for every sappy remark I made. Natalia kept saying I’ve lost my mind to be crushing on that nerd, very disapproving of our possible connection despite how interested she is about my love life and kept asking for more details.

“It’s a novelty experience,” Natalia explained.

Blake quietly nodded in agreement with a dry look on his face. I tilted my head in confusion.

“Huh?”

“It’s not every day I could get you to talk about boys with me, even if the boy in question leaves a lot to be desired,” Natalia huffed, oblivious to Keagan’s frown at the shade thrown at his friend. “You sure you don’t want me to help you look for someone cooler? I know a few guys who are interested...”

“No. Just no,” I firmly said, leaving no room for questions.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Keagan butted in. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’ve never had a crush before?”

“Pretty much,” I said with an eye roll.

“Not even a celebrity crush?”

I shook my head.

“How about superheroes? Don’t you think Ladybug has the cutest butt?”

I snorted. “What’s so cute about butts? I don’t get it.”

This is just like that time I was utterly confused when some girls in the comics named Dick Grayson’s butt cheeks ‘Jim’ and ‘Juan’. Yeah, they each get separate names. Weird.

“How about Chat Noire? She’s hot.”

“Please. I’m way hotter,” I said on reflex whenever anyone mentions another girl is hot to my face. Blair, what are you even saying?! You’re Chat Noire!

Blake snorted to the side. I stuck my tongue out at him like a child. Natalia was giggling at our antics. Glad to see someone finds this amusing.

Keagan furrowed his brows at me questioningly. “You’re fifteen, right?”

“Sixteen.”

Keagan was looking at me with disbelief. “Seriously? You never found anyone even mildly attractive at this age?”

“Besides Shizuke? No. My orientation is now officially Shizuke-sexual,” I flatly said, shooting him a glare as his cue to stop before he ruins my Talia-bait. “Happy?”

Schooling his features, Keagan muttered a whiney, “Happy.”

When that line of questioning died down, I shifted the conversation towards catching up with her. Then Keagan and I could weave in stuff about Blake and talk him up for her. I thought talking about Christmas break was an innocent subject.

I. Was. Wrong.

“My prince gave me this headband last Christmas! Isn’t it cute?!” Natalia tilted her head to show us a glossy black headband adorned with a cute little white bow on the side.

I heard my brother choke. I ignored him and kept my eyes locked with Natalia’s so she wouldn’t notice his pitiful face. I entrust Keagan to take care of him for me.

“Last Christmas? Prince? Do I know this guy?” I pressed.

No time to cry over spilled milk. Better gather as much info as I can about my brother’s love rival to assess how much of a threat he is and figure out what’s the best course of action.

Natalia was practically bouncing in her seat as she giddily spilled all the info I asked for and more. “I’m not sure if you’ve met him, he’s a model just like you. He’s also a freshman from the senior high school department. He’s gorgeous! We met at a costume party last Halloween. I was a princess and he was a prince. We really hit it off. He’s so sweet, smart, and handsome! Like a true prince out of a fairy tale book! It wasn’t long before we started dating. He asked me out by the Ashworth Castle’s fireworks display last month. It was so beautiful! It was snowing that time, the fireworks bursting like blooming flowers in the sky and the lights were reflecting off the snow in a way that made it look like the stars were falling, then he pulled out a colorful bouquet of roses and… Kyaaaaa! So romantic!”

The rest of her romantic spiel was spoken in gibberish. She’s stuck in her own world. She didn’t notice how my brother is sinking down with his heart right next to her, failing to put on a brave face. She didn’t notice Keagan’s eyes ping-ponging between the three of us nervously, having the sense to keep quiet lest he further humiliates Blake in front of Natalia. She didn’t notice my plastic dining utensils have snapped in half, the only outward sign of my frustration. If an akuma would attack now, I doubt she’d notice it.

I planned for almost anything, except this. It’s our fault for not actively keeping in touch with her over the long break. Some friends we were.

My excuse was because being Chat Noire is distracting and the thrill of having superpowers hadn’t quite worn off. I spent most of the winter holidays fighting akuma, experimenting with Cataclysm, sparring with Ladybug, and parkouring over the city during my free time.

While Blakey just didn’t have the guts to message her. Not even to send a lame cat meme. Because he was taking forever-and-a-half to ask her out, Natalia ended up dating someone else and that someone sounds like he’s the perfect Prince Charming-shaped package complete with the confidence to actually ASK HER OUT.

But sadly, my brother doesn’t have the guts to ask out a girl who isn’t taken, much less steal a girl who just word vomited how in love she is with her boyfriend who sounds too good to be true. Blake would never steal from anyone. This battle is already lost before he even had the courage to step into the battlefield. I should get the cake and ice cream ready tonight.

“Oh, is that Shizu and Fuyu over there? I better go! See you later!” Keagan grabbed his bag of lunch and gracelessly dismissed himself from the awkward mix of Natalia’s saccharine love monologue, the sounds of Blake’s heart shattering into a million pieces, and my crackling disappointment. He shot us one last pitying glance before running off with his besties. I can’t blame him.

At the mention of Shizuke, Natalia stopped her long-winded speech about her prince and her mood instantly soured. She glared after the bespectacled boy and stabbed her fork at her lunch, radiating pure unadulterated loathing.

“Yeesh. The way you’re glaring at him, it’s like he kicked your puppy out in the rain or something,” I said.

“He didn’t, but I think he’s cruel enough to do that if given the chance.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Somehow, I highly doubt that.”

“Take off your rose-tinted glasses and see past that ‘nice guy’ façade, Blair! I’m telling you, that guy’s nothing but a social climber who uses everyone around him then dumps them once they’ve stopped being useful!”

Psh… Leave it to ‘Talia to think I can’t tell apart the guys who are only there to use me from the guys who aren’t. I’m a model, remember? I deal with those kinds of guys when I’m not doing the same to other models myself. Showbiz is business, nothing personal. I doubt Shizuke could handle a cutthroat world like that.

Letting curiosity get the better of me, I asked her, “And what makes you say that?”

“Damien used to be friends with Shizuke. They were friends for most of third grade. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he’s a huge softie. And he’s rich too, just not as rich as Keagan or Fiona. As soon as Shizuke met those two, he ditched my friend like last season’s fashion and never talked again. He couldn’t even look at Shizuke without that pained expression on his face.”

“… Somehow, I don’t think that’s the whole story,” I scooted a few inches away from Natalia. She looked like she’s just about ready to explode.

“Just look at the people he surrounds himself with! He’s clearly using them for his own gain!”

Natalia pointed towards the trio, as if that would make her point any clearer. I would’ve scooted away again, but I don’t want to direct her eyes any closer to my semi-dead brother.

“Keagan got him a recommendation into the scholarship program. Perks of being the friend of the mayor’s son, didn’t have to fight tooth and nail for a spot here like the rest of us,” Natalia growled, jealousy rolling off her in waves.

Oh right, she’s got a scholarship too and I heard the screening process for the scholarship program was tough… Must be grating on her nerves to see some other kid get in easy when she had to work her butt off to get here.

“Fiona, the little monster, has gotten into a lot of fights with a lot of other delinquents over the years and has never lost. With her by his side, no one would dare bully him.”

And thus the legend of Fiona the bully hunter was born. The other students around us were moving away, probably used to Natalia yelling about how much she hates Shizuke. I wish I can join them.

“But what do they get out of him? Nothing! He’s not even there for them when they need him the most! You don’t see him risking his life around akumas like they do!”  
That’s one way to interpret their group dynamic. Keagan and Fiona are like school royalty; rich, powerful, and they stand out in a crowd. Shizuke’s like a peasant in comparison; lower middle class, average face, and generally unremarkable. If Keagan was the sun and Fiona was the moon, Shizuke’s a dingy little street lamp: try as he might to shine, he’ll never reach the sky.

It's easy to see where Natalia got that idea from. From what I’ve observed, that seems to be the general consensus of people outside our class.

I eyed their trio in the distance. Shizuke was nagging at Fiona to eat her vegetables and telling Keagan to put away his phone like an overbearing mom friend. There was a pause before the three of them laughed together for who knew what reason.

“I’m sorry Natalia, I just can’t see it.”

Natalia groaned, and started muttering to herself in between eating her lunch.

“Stupid love. Making you blind to all his faults.”

I could say the same thing about hate making her blind to the obvious, but I know she wouldn’t listen. I decided to save my breath. The rest of lunch was spent in silence before we went our separate ways.

0-0-0-0-0

**Shizuke**

Cleaning the lab took us about ten minutes with the help of Dylan.

Kaji greeted us as we found an empty table and joined us for lunch.

“What were you doing with Natalia?” Fuyu asked, icy blue eyes glaring at my blonde rival.

The twins are one thing. Kaji’s actually friends with them and they’re in the same group. Fuyu doesn’t actually hate them, and I would’ve been fine with them if Blair wasn’t possibly Hawkmoth. But Natalia’s a different story. She’s not hostile towards Kaji like she is to me, but that doesn’t change the fact that Kaji’s my friend and she doesn’t like it for some reason.

“Blair was trying to set up Natalia with Blake.”

Fuyu looked just about ready to say something when Kaji held up his hands defensively and rushed to explain himself.

“Hey, calm down! I just thought that if she and Blake were dating, maybe Blake’s niceness would somehow rub off on her!”

Fuyu rolled her eyes. “Kaji, how many times do I have to tell you? Shipping isn’t the answer to everything.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kaji deflates. “The plan didn’t work out anyway. Turns out, Natalia has been dating some guy since December.”

Fuyu’s eyes soften quickly with pity. “Ouch. Poor Blake.”

Kaji nodded solemnly. “He should’ve confessed to her months ago but he didn’t have the nerve. Natalia’s completely oblivious to Blake’s feelings and how she brutally murdered his heart by bragging about her boyfriend.”

Being a famous teen model with a cool attitude, I always thought Blake could get any girl he wanted. The magazines paint him as a womanizer leaving a string of broken hearts. Girls are said to be attracted to his tragic but handsome appeal.

“… I didn’t think a guy like him ever had to worry about rejection.”

Unlike me, went unsaid. I was wrong about him.

“I told you he’s a just shy dork,” said Kaji, seemingly reading my mind but what I was thinking was probably just written all over my face. “I know Blair’s gonna make sure he’s okay, but…”

“Yeah, it wouldn’t hurt to get him to go on an outing with us and help him get his mind off of Natalia,” I said, guessing what Kaji was thinking.

“Actually, I was thinking we could help him find a rebound by putting him on a blind date with one of my internet friends, but yeah, your idea sounds steadier so let’s go with that first,” Kaji said with a huge grin and two thumbs up.

“Romance isn’t always the way to get over a heartbreak, idiot shipper,” Fuyu chided, lightly jabbing Kaji with her elbow.

Kaji gingerly rubbed the part Fuyu jabbed and pouted. “I know. It’s just that some people kept choosing people who aren’t good for them and I wanted to make sure Blake falls for someone better than Natalia next time.”

“We can’t choose the people we fall for, much less choose for others,” I scolded, fully relating to that.

Letting out a sigh, Kaji sounded defeated when he said, “You’re right. Man, Shizu, that was deep,” he perked up and shot a grin my way when he said, “Where the heck did you get that gem from? Is there a girl you’re secretly seeing that we should know about?”

I stuttered out an excuse, which made Kaji laugh and admit he was only kidding. He doesn’t believe I can keep that kind of secret from them if it were true. Oh, the irony.

“I’m sure you’re just talking about your crush on Chat Noire,” he said in between catching his breath from laughing, unaware of how close to the truth he was.

Our peaceful lunch time was disturbed with Natalia’s high pitched yells.

“- I’m telling you, that guy’s nothing but a social climber who uses everyone around him then dumps them once they’ve stopped being useful!”

It’s not like I haven’t heard people say that about me before. Those kinds of rumors only got worse since Kaji got me a recommendation, an easy slot into this prestigious school’s scholarship program. I try to tell myself it doesn’t hurt, that their opinions don’t matter, that I work my butt off every day to prove I deserve to be here like everybody else, but…

“Just look at the people he surrounds himself with! He’s clearly using them for his own gain!”

There are days when I feel like I really am taking advantage of my friends. They’re both rich beyond my wildest dreams. Sometimes I wonder why they even hang out with a guy like me. Damien’s words from a long time ago often haunt me whenever I think of stuff like this… That I’ll never be good enough… I’ll always be worthless…

“Don’t listen to her, Shizu,” Kaji’s voice broke me out of my train of thought.

“Yeah. While Kaji gave you a scholarship, you’re the one who’s keeping him focused so he can stay in this school too,” said Fuyu, keeping a straight face as she shoves her vegetables into Kaji’s lunch.

“And Fuyu protects you because she’s protective of everyone she gives a hoot about. You don’t owe her anything,” said Kaji, also keeping a straight face while playing with his phone, the loud game music telling me he’s playing that colourful new puzzle game.

I felt my face twitch. These two…

“Fuyu! Stop shoving your vegetables into Kaji’s plate and eat them yourself! You need them! And Kaji! Put away your phone! It’s lunch time and it’s not polite to have it out while talking to others!”

I was breathing heavily after scolding my two best friends for their lack of table manners when I noticed the two looked completely unabashed as they grinned at me, like they got the reaction that they wanted… Like they were exaggerating their usual bad habits on purpose.

“This is what we like about you. You’re not afraid to tell us what you really think instead of kissing our butts like every other rich kid,” said Fuyu, with a rare reassuring smile on her face. “We’re all honest with each other, which lets us truly get to know and trust one another.”

“Trust me, Shizu. A friend like that is hard to come by when you’re rich and powerful. Almost everyone else only likes us for what we could give them,” said Kaji with a serious tone which was ruined by the impish smile on his face. “You’ve driven it home that you’re not like that when you fought me when I gave you a recommendation and refused to accept it until you succeeded in annoying my father into letting me attend school like normal.”

After a pause, we all burst into laughter. These two… Sometimes, I can’t believe we’re friends.

“Seriously guys? Will you ever let that go? So embarrassing,” I said, as soon as I could breathe normally again.

Kaji put away his phone and shoved Fuyu’s vegetables back into her plate. “No way. Seriously. I’ve never met anyone so against getting a favor in my life. Even if you couldn’t get me out of home school, I’m not taking back that recommendation.”

“But Kaji, it’s a huge favor and it wouldn’t be fair if you’re–“ I was cut off when Fuyu bopped me on the head.

“That’s what friends are for, stupid,” Fuyu said. She took a spoonful of her vegetables and cringed as she swallowed, then followed it up with the eggrolls I brought. “We help each other out not because we owe each other, but because we want to.”

And just like that, eight-year-old Damien’s voice in my head telling me that I’ll never be good enough went quiet.

0-0-0-0-0

Lunch passed by without anything else going on. Kaji went back to look for the twins to check on Blake and discuss their plans this afternoon. Fuyu went ahead to carry my stuff up to my next class on the second floor, while I went to the men’s room. On my way to my class, I saw Damien with his back turned, facing the playground’s elephant slide. I was going to walk away, glad that he couldn’t see me, when I heard a child crying in his direction.

“Just hand over the money, and I promise you won’t get in trouble.”

Taking a better look, I saw that there was a skinny little boy with short silver hair crying. He was trapped between the stone slide and Damien’s looming figure. The scrawny boy reached for his back pocket and pulled out some money. It’s like third grade all over again…

I can’t just stand here and watch. Not this time.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?!”

The two startled and turned their heads towards me. I marched towards them and put myself between Damien and the little boy.

“Extorting a little boy for lunch money? I can’t believe you’re still doing things like that.”

Damien scowled, looking down at me like I’m some sort of insect he can step on. The old me would’ve shrunk back, but now, my blood just boiled. I’m not the same kid he can just push around back in third grade.

“Midorikawa, calm down. I was just-”

“If you think I’m just gonna back down and let you keep stepping on others like you did before, then you’re wrong!”

Damien flinched back. A small part of me wanted to hesitate but I can’t let up now. I’m no longer the same weak-willed boy he used to push around… I’m stronger now. A superhero! I’m not gonna let him get away with it this time! Justice must be served!

“Who do you think you are, picking on people who are weaker than you?! Why do you feel the need to do that?! When you’re not using your family connections and your intimidating size to scare people, you resort to mind games, making people think they owe it to you to give you what you want!”

The words came easier as I went on. It’s like a dam just broke. All my thoughts that I’ve been keeping to myself, all my hate and frustration, just flowed out.

“You don’t care that you’re hurting others, or crushing their self-esteem, or make them question their worth! What’s worse is you don’t apologize for it! You never show remorse! All you care about is yourself!”

I was breathing hard by the time I was done. I identified too strongly with Damien’s latest victim that at some point, my words were less about defending the poor boy and more about avenging the boy I was.

“I should’ve listened to Fuyu sooner all those years ago. You were never a friend. You were a bully. You still are, and I don’t think you’ll ever change,” I coldly said.

For years, I imagined how it would be like to finally stand up against Damien. I imagined I’d be at least half as strong as Fuyu, use what I learned from Judo and throw him down to the ground. Or maybe an eloquent speech as I verbally crush him in front of a crowd - let him know how it feels like to be humiliated. What happened instead was a less than elegant scolding full of hatred with only us and this random kid as witnesses… I thought I’d be happier than this.

But Damien didn’t fight back like I expected him to. He didn’t even defend himself. Not even a little. He took everything I said without a word out of him. Is he trying to make me feel guilty? I shook my head. No. I won’t fall back into that kind of twisted logic again. I’m the one who deserved an apology here, not this bully.

I took the frail silver haired boy by the arm and pulled him away from such a toxic person. If there’s one good thing that came out of this, I at least managed to save this kid from him.

“Uhm, sir? Could you please let me go?”

“Sorry!” I said, letting go of the silver haired boy’s arm. “Was I hurting you?”

The silver haired boy shook his head. “No, but I have to look for Dylan. Y’see, I’ve done something bad…”

Before the silver haired boy could finish his sentence, the curly haired boy from my class appeared before us with tears in his eyes. He looks like he’s been running.

“Mister Sh-Shizuke!”

I was about to ask him what’s wrong when he stomped closer to us with a glare. A pitiful glare, nowhere near as intimidating as Fuyu’s, but it still sent a clear message: he’s mad. And we’re about to find out why.

“I heard everything! How could you say that to him?! You didn’t even let him explain himself!”

“What?”

“He was just helping me look for the person who took my lunch money!”

The silver haired boy shot him an apologetic look and gave him the money - the same money he was going to give to Damien. 

“Sorry, Dylan…” he mumbled.

The curly haired boy, Dylan, didn’t seem to hear him and just grabbed the money without looking. His glare never left me.

“I thought you were nice! How could you be so mean to my big brother?!”

Big brother? He means Damien?

So wait, the silver haired kid stole Dylan’s lunch money?

When Damien said he’ll be forgiven if he gives him the money, he’s not twisting words and making him feel bad on purpose…?

For one second, the silver haired kid was standing next to me. The next, he went flying towards the lockers, wrapped in a net that looked to be made of blue yarn with wooden weights. The wooden weights started to glow and lifted him off the ground.

“No one else will have to suffer because of a bully! I’ll capture them all and see to it that they’re all justly punished!”

I looked over my shoulder and saw a sight that made my heart twist in guilt. There stood a large akuma, dressed like a bounty hunter from an old western film. He had a fedora, a poncho with red and blue target symbols lining the edges, a utility belt, and a pair of thick brown leather cowboy boots, all colored a light golden brown. His only exposed arm was holding a gun that had a large canon-like barrel. More tellingly, around his wrist was a familiar red and blue yarn bracelet with wooden beads.

“I am Bully Hunter! Here to protect the weak!”

I messed up big time.


	4. Forgiving Is Not The Same As Forgetting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Forgive and Forget.)

**Blair**

After the disaster that happened at lunch, Blake snuck off for his daily alone-time to sulk. Because he was being extra lonesome today, I couldn't find him at his usual spots.

Please don't turn into an akuma… With how broken hearted he is, there's no way he wouldn't turn into an akuma! That corrupted butterfly will soon come here, following his miserable trail of brokenhearted teen angst, transforming him into a supervillain I will have to fight and then-

"EVERYONE EVACUATE!!! AKUMA ALERT!!!" Shizuke yelled as he ran past me carrying a crying curly haired boy with an akuma hot on his heels.

The akuma stands at six feet tall with a broad figure. He looks like he's modelled after a bounty hunter in an old west film, with a huge canon-like gun that fires nets made out of blue yarn. The akuma was unrelenting in his chase, only stopping occasionally to shoot a few children down the hall.

"Midorikawa! I mean you both no harm!" the akuma yelled as he ran after him, trying to hit him with one of his nets.

Shizuke displays amazing agility as he dodged every single one of the akuma’s shots without slowing down or dropping the little boy he was carrying. They soon ran out of the building, the akuma right on his tail.

On the bright side, Blake can’t be akumatized now that someone else has.

0-0-0-0-0

**Shizuke**

I ran around school dodging nets and looking for a place to hide. Damien-no, Bully Hunter is chasing me now, trying to get me and Dylan to watch him as he captures all the bullies in school and give them the punishment they deserve.

I managed to lose him for a bit and hid behind a building to catch my breath. I would’ve transformed by now if I wasn’t carrying someone with me.

“Mister Shi-shizuke, why did you carry me? Aren’t you mad at me for yelling at you?”

I shook my head. “No. I couldn’t be mad at you for that,” I said in between breaths. Untransformed, the Miraculous may have enhanced my senses but my physical abilities haven’t changed. Even for a star track runner, running this far while jumping over obstacles and carrying a child is too much. “You were just defending your brother.”

“Wouldn’t it have been easier for you to get away if you just ditched me?” Dylan asked, looking at me with guilty eyes as I leaned on a wall for support. I must really look pitiful to him right now.

“I-I couldn’t do that… Even if he is your b-brother… Akumas are d-dangerous… He might hurt you even if he didn’t mean to,” I took a deep breath before continuing so I can talk clearer. “And besides… I promised myself that I would never turn my back on people who needed help.”

Before Dylan could say anything in response to that, Bully Hunter found us and we’re back to running away from him.

"Please cooperate, Midorikawa! I just want you to see that I've changed!"

"Damien, you're not yourself! Don't do this!" I yelled back.

"Of course I'm not myself!" Bully Hunter growled, making Dylan shudder in my arms.

I could feel the little boy burry his head into my shoulder. Seeing his brother like this must be scaring him so much, he’s willing to seek comfort from the guy who caused it.

“I am better now!”

A single rope of red yarn sped past me and wrapped itself around a tree, forcing me to turn away from the track field and run towards the theatre building. Bully Hunter was gaining on us.

“I'm no longer the bully that hurt you all those years ago! In fact, I won’t let anyone else get away with bullying! That way, no one else has to suffer the way you did!"

I felt a pang of guilt at his words. He really does regret what he did after all.

I kept running until I reached the back of the theatre building, planning on cutting through the building to get to the gym – one of the many shortcuts I had to learn during my days as Damien’s henchman. But the door was locked and my shortcut turned into a dead end, trapped between the corner of a building and a tall fence. If I hurry out maybe there's a chance I could still get out of this corner to somewhere more open. I turned around, only to see Bully Hunter blocked us off.

"Join me as I get rid of all the bullies in this school!" he said, offering his hand to us as a sign of peace.

"Or how about they don’t?" said a voice that never fails to make my heart skip a beat.

Standing proudly on top of the theatre building was Chat Noire.

She jumped down from the building. Bully Hunter tried to shoot at her but she dodged it all by twisting in the air until she landed with a roll between us and the akuma. With her staff lengthened to twice her height, she struck Bully Hunter by the arm holding his gun, making him shoot his net up to the sky. Chat Noire swung her staff again, this time knocking Bully Hunter back a fair distance away.

“Get out of here while I distract him,” Chat Noire said in a commanding voice as she deflected another net with her elongated staff.

I gave her a nod. As she ran towards Bully Hunter to fight him head on, I ran out of the corner and around the building. It was a long way around to the gym but from there, it’s just a quick walk to the senior high school department – where the nearest exit is.

Since the Hawkmoth started attacking the city, the school came up with protocols to follow whenever there’s an akuma nearby. In the event that an akuma attacks the school, students are to evacuate the department the akuma is in a swift and orderly fashion.

As soon as I reached the gym, I dropped Dylan off. I was about to run back to Chat Noire when I felt a hand tug me back by the sleeve.

“Y-you can’t go! It’s not safe!” Dylan said.

Aww… It’s kind of Dylan to worry about my safety even though I was mean to his older brother, but I need to go so this kid can have his brother back.

“I’ll be fine,” I said, barely managing to keep my breathing steady. “I can take care of myself.”

Dylan shook his head. “You said it yourself! My brother’s an akuma now! He’s dangerous!”

Because of me, said my unforgiving conscience. Because I let my anger get the better of me again…

“Dylan, look, I’m sorry about that. I want to apologize to your brother too, but I know it’s worthless as long as he’s an akuma. I’m going to wait for him to go back to normal. I just want to be there as soon as Ladybug purifies him. I promise to stay at a safe distance.”

Dylan looked at me with skeptical eyes, not completely convinced with my excuse.

I handed him my phone and loaded the Ladyblog’s latest video. Kaji was gleefully narrating that he has followed Chat Noire and the akuma into the school’s cafeteria. Wow, they move fast.

“I promise you, you won’t see me in this video. I won’t get close enough to appear for that,” I said with as much confidence as I could with my half-truth. Surely, he won’t see _Shizuke Midorikawa_ go anywhere near Bully Hunter. “I always keep my promises.”

Dylan eventually relented and let go of me.

“… I better not see you then.”

“You won’t.”

I ran into the nearest empty space - a janitor’s closet - and locked the door behind me. As soon as we’re alone, Tikki flew out of my sweater vest.

“I messed up big time! Just when I thought I was finally improving I-”

“Shh… It’s okay. You know what to do whenever you make a mistake.”

“You’re right,” I straightened up and popped open the window. “The sooner I save Damien, the sooner I can fix this. Tikki, spots on!”

0-0-0-0-0

**Chat Noire**

After Shizuke and the little boy were well out of Bully Hunter’s reach, the akuma started focusing more on me and we fought around the school. By now, the elementary department has been cleared out. All I have to do is keep him within this area until Ladybug gets here. It would’ve been so much easier if he didn’t have that annoying grappling hook on him. So I herded the akuma into the cafeteria. Being indoors should limit his mobility.

We were at a stand down several feet away from each other when we heard someone by the window. Guess who decides to show up?

“Hello, viewers! This is Keagan reporting live at our school’s cafeteria where the akuma is currently fighting off Chat Noire!”

“Idiot, get down! They’ll see you!”

Not Ladybug, that’s who.

“You! Just who I was looking for!” Bully Hunter yelled as he shot a net and caught Monsieur Ladyblogger.

The beads around the net started glowing and levitated Keagan up through the window and floating towards Bully Hunter. Fiona quickly jumped through the window and grabbed the net holding Keagan. She’s only strong enough to slow down the floating net.

“Let go of him!” Fiona yelled, glaring ice cold daggers at Bully Hunter.

Bully Hunter ignored her as he reeled in Keagan. As strong as she is, Fiona’s no match against an akuma, and is losing their game of tug-of-war. Keagan, on his part, hasn’t stopped filming.

“So Bully Hunter, what do you need me for? I thought your M.O. was capturing bullies?”

“I just need you to capture everything so Midorikawa and my brother could see what I’m trying to do. I promise you won’t be harmed.”

Welp. I think we’ve finally reached the point where the akuma has run out of new things to tell us. I flipped a few tables over Bully Hunter to keep him busy and clawed off the bead weights around the net holding Keagan. 

“Chat Noire! Where’s Ladybug?”

“Monsieur Ladyblogger, will you get off your phone and at least make an effort to get away from here?!” I said through gritted teeth.

I heard the clicking sound of a gun being loaded behind me. Crud. I raised my hands in surrender and slowly turned to face him.

“I don’t mean to sound like a bully extorting kids for their lunch money, but a deal’s a deal,” Bully Hunter sarcastically said, taking his sweet time pulling the trigger. “Hand over your Miraculous!”

“Nope,” I dropped my baton and kicked it as hard as I can, aiming for his gun forcing him to miss. I caught my baton as it bounced off the akuma’s meaty wrist and extended it to his face, hitting him square in the nose.

While Bully Hunter’s busy fixing his nose in pain, I grabbed Keagan in a princess-style carry and ducked behind the cafeteria counter with Fiona following close behind.

Instead of freeing Keagan from the net, I thought better of it and tangled the net around a cupboard handle.

“Stay. Here.” I said before he can retort, but then I thought better of it. I turned to Fiona. “Actually, make sure he stays here.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Fiona gave me an affirmative salute, which made Keagan mumble ‘traitor’.

I peered above the counter to see if Bully Hunter has recovered yet. The net flying my way tells me, yes he has. With a flick of my wrist, my baton extended into a quarterstaff just in time to deflect the incoming net and send it back at Bully Hunter to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Bully Hunter turned a knob on his yarn gun-transforming it to a more compact gun- and pulled the trigger. Instead of another net, beads shot out of the gun and exploded when they collided with the net, disintegrating it.

I clicked my tongue. “So you have explosives too. Cest magnifique.”

“Aww, kitty. If you wanted to play with yarn so badly, I can always switch back,~” he said, twisting the knob back to bulky net gun mode.

“You know, that joke would’ve worked better if your name had a yarn-based pun. Hawkmoth really has to up her game in the naming department.”

I rolled out of the way as more nets shot towards me. Bully Hunter threw net after net after me and until there was just too many for me to dodge and I was on the floor. Before he can come over and take my Miraculous, a red and black spotted yoyo wrapped around Bully Hunter’s gun arm stopped him.

“That’s enough, Bully Hunter!” Ladybug entered the scene from behind the akuma, tugging at his yoyo as he stepped closer.

A glowing butterfly outline lit up over the akuma’s face.

Noticing the lack of struggle from the akuma, Ladybug asked, “Hawkmoth’s nagging again, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, probably going _‘blah blah blah… Get both of their miraculous! Blah blah blah… Don’t forget to pick up some milk on the way! Blah blah blah…’_ ,” I mocked as I clawed through the yarn holding me down.

“Cat! Not the time!” Ladybug scolded, but not before he failed to hold back a snicker.

“Sorry Hawkmoth, can’t listen to you right now. I’m in the middle of a fight,” before either of us could make a move, the glowing butterfly outline faded and Bully Hunter’s head is back in the game. “C’mere, Ladybug!”

Bully hunter grabbed the yoyo and flung Ladybug towards him.

Hah. Big mistake. With his huge bulky size and with Ladybug kinda disarmed, it’s easy to understand why he’d think fighting Ladybug in hand-to-hand combat would be easy.

Mid-flight, Ladybug readjusted himself so his feet connected to Bully Hunter’s chest first. The blow sent the large akuma down to the floor and Ladybug pinned him down by holding down his arm and his legs wrapped around the akuma’s shoulder.

Ladybug is a highly competent unarmed fighter. If I were to guess, he practices a martial art in his civilian life. With all the time we’ve spent fighting akumas, I would’ve thought Hawkmoth would warn her minion-for-the-day that Ladybug is not to be underestimated at melee.

As my partner was trying to pry off a bracelet – likely the possessed object – Bully Hunter turned the knob of his gun again. This time, it turned into a grappling gun. Bully Hunter shot its grappling hook and dragged himself and Ladybug across the other end of the cafeteria through several tables and chairs, making Ladybug let go.

Finally free of the net, I leaped towards the pile of tables, picked off a few and pulled out my partner. “Damn, that look like it hurt.”

Ladybug flexed and stretched; demonstrating that he’s well enough, thanks for the concern, his magical indestructible suit took the brunt of the damage.

“Where’s Bully Hunter?”

“I won’t let you take Kaji!” Fiona yelled.

“That answers your question, Bugsy.”

Bully Hunter was at the counter back on the other end of the cafeteria, Fiona bravely standing between the akuma and Monsieur Ladyblogger like it’s where she belongs. Ladybug and I tried to rush towards them but things escalated too fast on the akuma’s side.

“I have no business with you, but I’ll give you a chance,” Bully Hunter turned his gun into its ‘exploding beads mode’. “Step out of the way and you can get out of this unharmed.”

Alarmed, Keagan said, “I’ll be fine! He needs me! Do what he says, Fuyu!”

“Fuyu…?” Bully Hunter repeated, his eyes widening. Then his shock shifted to anger as his gun shifted to net mode. “You…”

Fiona didn’t back away and shot him her own icy cold glare. “Whatever you’re trying to achieve here, you can shove it! I’m not letting you drag my friends into it!”

At this very moment, I believed with all my heart that Keagan and Fiona belong together. They’re both reckless! Ladybug seems to share my sentiments. He’s making choking noises right next to me, equally shocked at her audacity to taunt an akuma.

“YOU’RE THE REASON MIDORIKAWA WON’T LISTEN TO ME!!!” Bully Hunter shot Fiona with a net.

Unlike with Keagan earlier, he was much rougher with levitating her towards him.

Also unlike Keagan earlier, Fiona’s making an effort to get out of the net.

“If I can’t convince Midorikawa that I’ve changed, then I’ll just have to convince you and make you help me!” Bully Hunter said, shifting his gun to ‘grappling hook mode’.

Bully Hunter went out of the cafeteria and swung away on his red yarn grappling hook with Fiona in tow.

As for Keagan, he freed himself from the net when no one was looking and jumped on the net holding Fiona, clinging onto it as it flew away with no regard for his safety, all before I could even think about stopping him.

“Come back here!” Ladybug yelled as he zipped after them.

I couldn’t resist the urge to pull my hair in frustration.

Shizuke, why are all your friends crazy?! No wonder you’re so high-strung all the time! They’ll be the death of you! The death of me too!

I launched myself after Bully Hunter with all my strength, venting out my frustrations.

0-0-0-0-0

**Ladybug**

There was a brief moment of panic when I lost sight of Bully Hunter, until Chat Noire caught up and grumpily reminded me that the crazy Ladyblogger is with them filming everything.

According to the Ladyblog, they’re headed towards the school’s clock tower where Bully Hunter plans to publicly execute the bullies by hanging them up there by their underwear. How nostalgic. I remember the days when he threatened to do the same to me if I didn’t do his homework.

“Leave it to Monsieur Ladyblogger, to get freed from the akuma’s dangerous clutches only to jump right back in the second I turn my back on him! How can one person be so reckless?!” Chat Noire ranted, understandably irritable. “And there’s his Lady-friend too! What was she thinking picking a fight with an akuma?!”

Welcome to my world, dear love of my life. You’ll make an excellent addition to our little family.

“At least their four-eyed friend is more cooperative. I’ve never seen him anywhere near an akuma, but the one time I do, he kept himself away from the akuma like I told him to! Just for that, he’s become my favorite of their infamous trio!”

I had to slap myself so I don’t do or say anything stupid when she said I’m her favorite. It doesn’t mean anything! She just finds me less annoying compared to my friends!

“What was that?” Chat Noire looked at me with concern.

“NOTHING!!! JUST A FLY!!!”

“Okay…” Chat Noire said, sounding unconvinced.

0-0-0-0-0

“People of this school!”

Bully Hunter’s voice boomed from where he was perched at the top of the clock tower, nets holding alleged bullies floating around it. Fuyu’s net was floating the highest, right next to Bully Hunter. Kaji was filming the whole thing on a flying hammock made of blue yarn and floating beads near them. He was restrained to it with yarn.

“There is no need to fear! Bully Hunter is here to purge the school from all kinds of jerks who cause nothing but pain!” the akuma turned towards Fuyu. “Just you watch, Jewelry Princess. I’ll get you to help me by the end of this.”

“That’s enough, Bully Hunter,” I said as soon as I reached the top of the tower.

Bully Hunter took a step in front of Fuyu, blocking her from my view with his bulky form. “I was wondering when you’d show up… Wait, where’s your partner?”

That was when Chat Noire snuck up from behind and struck. But Bully Hunter was quick. He grabbed Fuyu and rolled away. He mostly kept his distance as he shot at us. His arm with the bracelet is wrapped around Fuyu, making it hard to make a grab for it. I tried to snatch Fuyu off his grasp but his hold on her was too strong.

“Ladybug, I’ve got an idea,” Chat Noire said, eyes locked on the akuma and focused as ever. “I’m gonna need you to be prepared to catch the hostage. Okay?”

I barely managed a nod when she charged towards Bully Hunter. She gracefully dodged all his shots and as she got into his space, she made a feint towards his wrist. Thinking she’s gonna try to get to his bracelet again he turned to sidestep her.

“Cataclysm!”

Chat Noire struck down on the roof, making Bully Hunter lose his footing and fall through the hole she made. The sudden jolt made him let go of Fuyu, sending her falling off the clock tower screaming.

Remembering something from the Spider-Man comics Chat Noire made me read, I decided against fishing her back up with my yoyo and dove after her. I could faintly hear Kaji crying her name from above as I swung down as fast as I can to catch Fuyu. I quickly wrapped my arm around her, careful to keep her head down so she doesn’t snap her neck and willed my yoyo to grow longer and longer until we reach the ground.

She was still shaking in my arms when we landed. It’s a far cry from the strong heroic girl who stood up for me all those years ago and has been looking out for me since. Seeing someone as tough as her look so frail like this… It never gets easier.

“Are you-“ I asked but I was cut off when she pushed herself off and took a few steps back.

“I’m fine,” she gritted out while keeping her gaze away from me. Knowing her, she’s probably ashamed of showing fear, even one as understandable as nearly falling to her death.

The sounds of explosions rang from above.

Eyes fixed on the top of the tower where Kaji and the others are still floating in mid-air, Fuyu said, “You should go.”

As much as I want to stay to make sure she’s okay, the battle with Bully Hunter isn’t over yet.

“Okay. Just stay safe until we stop the akuma, alright?” I said as I threw my yoyo all the way back to the top of the tower and hauled myself up. Chat Noire doesn’t have much time left.

0-0-0-0-0

**Chat Noire**

With Cataclysm already used up, this fight couldn’t last too long.

I pounced on him from behind a gear and tried to ambush him, but he pulled off his grappling hook just in time to hoist himself up and dodge.

“Nice try, kitty, but you’re gonna have to do better than that,” Bully Hunter mocked as he steadied himself up a vertical gear that’s slowly sending him down like an escalator. He shot another net at me, which I evaded by hiding behind a set of gears.

With his long-ranged fighting style and varied abilities combined with the constantly shifting battleground, taking him down is trickier than it should be.

“Here, kitty kitty kitty…” Bully Hunter taunted.

The beeping of my Miraculous gave away my hiding spot and had me fighting him again. That was when Ladybug came swinging in, kicking Bully Hunter off the edge.

“Nice of you to drop in, Ladybug,” I greeted. “Perfect timing as always.”

“Sorry I took so long,” Ladybug said, too serious to banter like a proper Spider-man knock off.

A grappling hook zipped by and pulled the akuma back up to our level.

“Great. You’re both here,” Bully Hunter shifted his gun into bead bomb mode and shot at us. “Now I just gotta knock you out and pry your Miraculous off!”

We scrambled up from one platform to another as the akuma wildly shot his exploding projectiles around us. With all the spinning from the rotating clock gears and us heroes running in circles around him, you’d think the akuma would get dizzy at some point, but nope.

“Chat Noire!”

Up on a beam, Ladybug was tying what appears to be a pair of red, black-spotted barbell weights to his back. I narrowed my eyes at today’s Lucky Charm. How would strapping extra weight on to Ladybug stop Bully Hunter? Whatever. Leave it to Ladybug to figure that out.

“Can you get the akuma to fall off right below me? Thanks!”

Times like these, I’m glad that my power isn’t as needlessly complicated as Lucky Charm. It takes a special kind of zany to use it to full effect.

The akuma made no effort to hide where he is. He’s standing on a gear around the middle, shooting randomly at every direction except the one where we are. Good. He hasn’t spotted us yet. With all the damages done to the clock tower, the gears are now grinding at a frenetic pace. My Miraculous beeped a second warning. I better make this quick.

I leaped onto the wildly swinging pendulum and slipped down. Just when the pendulum swung by Bully Hunter, I spun myself around from behind the pendulum’s round weight and kicked him over the edge.

Spurred by his survival instincts to save himself from falling to his death, he changed his gun to a grappling hook and fired, aiming for one of the beams above - right where Ladybug was waiting.

Ladybug grabbed the other end of the grappling hook, slid it over a beam and jumped down with the weights strapped onto his back. Ah. So that’s what the weights are for; to drag a big guy like Bully Hunter up a make-shift pulley while having him locked into using a grappling hook!

When they met, Ladybug snagged the bracelet and forced it to snap as they passed each other on his way down. With his hand now free to wield his yoyo, he caught and purified the akuma.

Bully Hunter transformed back into Damien mid-air. I jumped up and caught him while Ladybug swung down on a platform below to use his miraculous healing wave. Soon, a swarm of magical ladybugs flew around and fixed everything. Ladybug swung up to check on us and we did our fist bumps before we looked over Hawkmoth’s latest victim.

The former akuma looked around in confusion. “… What…? Where am I?”

Usually, this would be Ladybug’s cue to start comforting the victim… Except Ladybug is too busy staring into space. Since it doesn’t seem like Ladybug’s gonna do his usual akuma-hugger routine, I might as well give them my own brand of tough love.

“You’re in the school’s clock tower. And before you ask, yes, you’ve just been akumatized.”

He took a while to process what I said, typical of most akuma victims.

“For what it’s worth, you got akumatized fighting for a good cause.”

“W-what did I do?”

“You tried to rid this school of bullies.”

“Huh?”

“And you tried to make some nerd watch to convince him you’ve changed or something.”

“What?!”

“Failing at that, you kidnapped the nerd’s friends instead so they can convince him for you.”

“WHAT?!”

“Don’t be so dramatic. It’s not like you were anywhere near killing them!” I waved him off, then something occurred to me. ”Please don’t blame yourself for the part where the pink one fell off the clock tower. That was totally my fault.”

Damien covered his face and sunk down on his knees in despair. Sigh… I did promise myself I’d at least try to be a better hero, and part of that job is comforting victims.

“It was all for a good cause! You wanted to show you’ve changed and apologize to the nerd for being a bully before, right?”

Damien, still drowning in despair, simply nodded.

“Then don’t let this stop you. You wanted to be given a chance to show you’re sorry and that you’ve changed, right? But for that to happen, you have to give him a chance to see that for himself and forgive you by _apologizing_ ,” then my miraculous gave off a warning beep. Two minutes left. “Looks like I need to clock out. Catch ya later!”

I shot Ladybug a wink and a pair of finger guns before leaping off into the school’s lush gardens, leaving my partner to deal with the victim.

0-0-0-0-0

**Ladybug**

Why did she have to be so cute?! It’s not fair! And did she have to repeatedly call me a nerd?!

With no more further distractions, I’m left alone in the tower with my problem. There was a brief silence before Damien spoke up.

“Ladybug?”

“Yeah?”

“Please do me a favor and sneak me out of school! I can’t face either of them right now!” he begged, prostrating down on the floor.

Once upon a time, it was me who was prostrating in front of him, begging for forgiveness over something that I now know wasn’t even my fault. How times have changed.

“Listen, Dam-DUDE,” I almost bit my tongue. I’m not supposed to know his name as Ladybug after all. At least my verbal stumble got him to look up. “Cat’s right. If you really did feel sorry about what you’ve done, you should apologize.”

“What’s the use? He’ll never forgive me… I don’t deserve to be forgiven.”

I resisted the urge to agree with him. Just because I akumatized him and he feels bad for it now, doesn’t mean I’m just gonna forgive him for his years of bullying. But right now, I’m not Shizuke, the person he wronged. I’m Ladybug, the hero who hears everyone out fairly so justice can be served.

“I understand that you were akumatized because you felt… regret over your past actions…”

“Yeah. I was one hell of an asshole back then…”

I cringed at his use of curse words. That part of him hasn’t changed.

“… I doubt I’m any better now.”

My miraculous beeped, signaling that I only have three minutes left.

“Whether he’ll forgive you or not, it seems to me he deserved an apology,” I opened the window by the clock face and threw my yoyo out, letting it wrap around a building. “Now come on. A certain ‘nerd’ told me he’ll talk to you once you’re back to normal.”

Looks like it’s Shizuke’s turn to have a talk.

0-0-0-0-0

After swinging us down and leaving him by a bench near the clock tower, I found a secluded place to detransform and carefully circled around before I made my way back. He looked surprised to see me, even though I, as Ladybug, told him I’d meet him here.

I never thought I'd ever be doing this. Nonetheless, I gave him my sincerest apologies.

“Damien, I'm here to apologize for my outburst earlier noon.”

"What are you apologizing for? You weren't wrong, I really was a horrible friend to you… I deserved that."

"Stop!" I held my hand out. I straightened up and looked him in the eye. "What I did was uncalled for. I should've given you a chance to explain yourself like I would've had it been anyone else."

"But-"

"What you did in the past was horrible, but it had no bearing on the matter with the boy. I was being unfair and let my anger get the better of me. You didn’t deserve to get lashed out on today. I'll try not to let that happen again and be more cooperative in the future. That's all I wanted to say to you. Good day.”

I started making my way back towards the elementary department, leaving Damien behind. Now that the akuma situation is over, classes should resume in the next period...

"Midorikawa! Wait!"

I stopped in place, willing myself not to snap at him. Not even a full minute ago, I just promised I'd try to hear him out first and not let my anger get the better of me, so that's exactly what I'm going to do.

"I know this is six-no, seven years overdue, but I want to apologize for how I treated you in the past."

I turned to face him fully and narrowed my eyes at him. If he thinks one measly apology is gonna be enough-

"Just… Just know that you never deserved to be treated that way."

"I know that," I said. It came out more detached than how I'm really feeling... Anger, sadness, regret… All of it blending inside of me. But it was all I can manage without lashing out at him all over again. He doesn’t deserve it when he’s actually TRYING to apologize.

"Good. Good… I don't expect us to ever be friends again. I mean, who would want to be friends with me after that?" he laughed at himself in a self-depreciating way and looked to the side, avoiding eye contact. "If you could never forgive me, I'll understand. I just want you to know I regret how I was, and I'm sorry."

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Yeah…?" he reluctantly complied.

Normally, I'd feel bad for making people uncomfortable, but there are things I needed to know before I can even consider forgiving him.

"What made you change?"

Right after I befriended Fuyu and left him, he didn't just stop being a jerk. In fact, he got worse. Then suddenly, he stopped. He never approached us, never acknowledge our presence… But his goons didn’t so I assumed we’re still on his hit list. A part of me always wondered why.

"My brother… You've met him. He's a good kid and he really looks up to me," Damien said as his lips twitched into a smile. That smile turned down into a grimace. "He started school a year after you and Kuznetsov became friends. Dylan befriended another kid who was just like me. He came home crying one day feeling like shi-feeling like dirt. Took him a while to get over that, and even then, there are days when he relapses and thinks he’s _worthless_ all over again."

I chose to ignore his near curse. Well, that explains where he got that empathy from. I've only known the kid for a day and I can understand feeling a little protective of him. What more if he’s actually my little brother?

“He kinda reminds me of you, you know? Honest, kind, earnest... Eager to please. Can achieve just about anything when he puts his mind to it. But with terrible self-esteem, ever since he made that one awful _‘friend’_ ,” Damien let out a sardonic laugh. “Karma truly does have a twisted sense of humor.”

A quiet “oh” was all I could say. I can feel Damien’s own self-loathing from where I stand. Damien stayed quiet and misty eyed for a while before he gathered himself and started talking again.

"So I understood then that I am the worst person ever. I couldn't face you or Kuznetsov after that. I didn't know what to say… I was ashamed of myself. Still am."

"Then why didn't you apologize sooner?"

"Because I'm a coward."

“And your goons? Why didn’t they stop attacking me if you already regretted being a bully?”

“We liked feeling powerful and when I quit, they just replaced their leader. They wouldn’t listen to me when I told them to stop. So we cut off all ties. We’re no longer ‘friends’.”

Now that he mentioned ‘friends’…

"And Natalia? Does she know?"

Not long after he stopped bullying me, I saw him befriend a certain blonde. At first, I thought she was a replacement for me, his new personal homework machine. But then I noticed how differently he treats her. I was a little resentful when he treated me like a servant while he was much nicer towards her, because why me? Why was I the one he bullied? And then Natalia started acting like a huge jerk around me, so I just assumed it’s because they’re both jerks that they got along better. But now though, I get the feeling that’s not the case.

"I didn't have the guts to apologize to you like I should’ve, much less tell the only friend I have about how horrible a friend I could be. If she knew, she wouldn't want to be friends anymore."

Damien crossed his arms in an effort to look tougher than he really is. I'm sure he'd rather not talk about this. The only reason he's answering is because he probably feels that he owes me at least this much. He's genuinely sorry.

"I'm sure she'd still want to be your friend," I said reassuringly, which caused Damien's head to snap back up at me at the unexpected sympathy. "I'll never forget the bully who made my first year in Helios miserable… But you're not that guy anymore."

"Wait, does this mean you forgive me…?"

He sounded so hopeful, I almost feel bad for crushing that.

"Not quite. You haven't bullied me in years, and I can see you've changed. I have no reason to keep holding a grudge against you… It's just that, I can't just get over the past as if none of it happened. This is all so sudden, and honestly, I'm having trouble absorbing…" I waved my hand over to him, indicating his changes. Damien looked confused. Sigh, I should just get to the point. "But I'm sure I can forgive you someday."

Damien only nodded in response, full of understanding. He's nothing like who he used to be - the demanding brat who would throw a tantrum whenever he doesn't get his way.

After letting all of that out, I felt different. This isn’t like earlier, where I just blew up and threw all my resentment at him. This time, I felt like a weight has been lifted off of me. I still feel some anger boiling deep inside me, but it’s not as intense as it used to be. Tikki was right. Holding onto grudges really isn’t good for anyone.

"For now, I want us to work better in our group together, and that can only happen if you stopped pretending I am not around- _and for Natalia to stop antagonizing me, but I'll worry about that later_. So, groupmates?" I held out a hand, which he took and shook.

"Groupmates."

0-0-0-0-0

**Blair**

It took me most of the free period, a quick run across the school grounds as Chat Noire, and dumb luck to find my sulking twin brother. I should've known he'd climb up a tree to be alone. There he was, lying on the highest branch looking totally emo. He makes it look like bark is a perfectly comfortable thing to lay on. He always had delusions that tree climbing was cool for some reason. I detransformed behind some bushes before approaching Blake.

"Bro, get down from there! Class is about to resume! We can't just leave Keagan to deal with those little gremlins alone!"

"You go on ahead. I'll just stay here and think about my place in the universe now that Natalia's got a boyfriend."

I rolled my eyes. "You're being a drama queen, bro. Stop acting like it's the end of the world! So what if Natalia has a boyfriend? It's not like she's going to marry him."

"That's where it starts, sis. It’s a step-by-step process. First they'll date, then they'll get engaged, then they'll get married and have children!"

Plagg is snickering in my purse. I placed my hands on my hips and glared up at my dearest brother.

"Psh… Not everyone ends up marrying their first love, stupid," I said with a dismissive wave.

"Tell that to dad."

"He’s a special case. He always believed he only had the capacity to fall in love once so of course he's gonna try his best not to screw that up."

Sometimes, I wonder if I'm gonna end up like dad – never let go of the first and only person who made him feel something that isn't platonic because he's afraid he's never gonna feel that way again. He was never attracted to anyone before he met mom. If they hadn't met, he believed he'd probably stay single for life like he initially planned. I can only hope that when I find that person, they'd be at least half as nice as mom and they feel the same about me.

"And mom said he was like, her fifth love. Sixth if she was counting her unrequited crush on her teacher when she was a kid. That's how it works for most people! Trial and error until you find the right one for you! I'm sure you'll get your chance someday.”

"Even if they don't end up getting married, I doubt Natalia will ever look my way. I'm not even her type! I'm no prince charming…"

Despite being the spitting image of our dad (save for the eyes) Blake clearly takes after mom; such a hopeless romantic with a flair for dramatics. Dad had always been the more pragmatic one in that relationship.

"Then move on."

"What?"

"Move. On. There are plenty of fish... Fishes? Fish? Whatever. _Sea creatures_ , yeah, that'll do. There ar-”

“Sea creatures? Really?”

“Can’t be picky with what you catch, bro. It’s better to cast your net wide and broaden your options if you want to actually catch something ‘cause we can’t always catch them _gold_ fish, now can we?!”

Blake grumbled about how I’m not even at the punch line yet but he’s already annoyed to pieces. From the ocean of kindness that is my heart, I pretended not to hear any of that.

“As I was saying; there are plenty of sea creatures in the sea that can appreciate an overly dramatic dork like you!"

"Thanks, sis," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You're welcome," I cheerfully replied. Then I schooled my happy face to a more serious expression. "Bro, whether you choose to wait for her or move on, I'll always be here for you. You know that, right?"

Blake's sour face softened. "Yep."

I grinned. "Now get your butt down _here_ , because you're up _there_ and I can't be there for you!"

Blake rolled his eyes, and stood up, balancing precariously on the branch.

"Coming, sister _dearest_ ," he said in a tone full annoyance, but we both know he means it.

My brother did some warm up stretches before he climbed down a lower branch, then another, lower and lower until he jumped down with a twist in mid-air when he was only six feet off the ground.

"Show off," I muttered.

"Like you don't do that too," Blake jabbed back.

Together we threw jabs at each other until we reached our classroom. There we were greeted with a strange sight.

"Twinsies! You came back! I was beginning to think you've abandoned me!"

There, we found poor Keagan, tied to a chair, unable to do anything but watch helplessly in the sidelines as the class descended into war against each other with that girl with the dirty blonde pigtails leading one side and Zephyr leading the other. How did that kid get back here so fast?! I'm pretty sure I saw him by the clock tower along with the other bullies before I left…

“How the heck did this happen?” I asked incredulously. Blake was too shocked to say anything.

“I don’t know! One minute we were having class like normal, the next, they were declaring war on each other and I’m tied to a chair!”

We stared at the class who were building forts made of chairs and paper flying everywhere. Then we stared back at Keagan, who looked about ready to cry. Then back at the class, who somehow set a pile of books on fire, triggering the fire alarms and the sprinklers, making everything soggy.

All this in the span of, what? Ten minutes? Fifteen minutes? We weren't gone THAT long.

"We’re so in trouble…" I grumbled as I untied Keagan.

0-0-0-0-0

**Shizuke**

"Shizu!” Fuyu greeted us at the playground on the way to the elementary department. Noticing my company, she wedged herself between us and glared up at the giant ex-bully. "You better not be messing with Shizu's head again."

Damien nodded his head down in humility and said, "I know, and I'm sorry for everything I did as Bully Hunter, I-"

"Zip it,” Fuyu cut him off, her voice had that sharp edge and her icy blue eyes set in one of the coldest glares I’ve ever seen from her. "Haven’t you seen the Ladyblog? People see me with Kaji on the Ladyblog all the freaking time! I of all people would know that akumas are just unlucky people who were controlled by Hawkmoth when they were down! I'm not gonna hold anything you said or did as an akuma against you. Apologizing about that is stupid, so I don’t wanna hear it."

"Right… Sorry."

Damien looked down to the side, avoiding her glare. I kinda feel sorry for him. He didn’t know that that would trigger Fuyu’s wrath.

“I have better reasons to be mad at you that you’re actually accountable for.”

Damien winced. He looked like he was going to try to apologize again but Fuyu cut him off and marched ahead, dragging me with her.

"Let's just get back to the classroom. The yellow eyesore must be getting tired of taking care of a classroom full of screaming children by herself," Fuyu said, rejecting any of Damien's attempts at conversation. She glared at him the whole way back and stayed firmly between us.

0-0-0-0-0

When we returned to the classroom, Dylan greeted us and was glad that we're on civil terms now. He returned my phone, pleased to say he didn't saw me in the Ladyblog's livestream like I promised. Natalia seethed and was mean at first, but at least Damien tried to play peacemaker between us and let me teach. After that, we managed to work together well enough. Fuyu made no further comments at the change in our group’s dynamics and quietly sat in the corner listening to music while occasionally shooting Damien and Natalia a glare whenever she thinks we’re not looking.

The rest of the afternoon went a lot better than this morning. There's just one more thing I need to settle…

"Fuyu, I need you to help me ask out Blake.”

Fuyu choked on a cookie – from Tikki’s stash. Sigh... I refilled her glass of lemonade, which she grabbed and swallowed to wash down Tikki’s cookie. As soon as she cleared her throat, she sputtered out, “Wait, what?!”

Then it occurred to me how my choice of words could be misinterpreted. “That’s not what I meant! I mean, we ask him to go out with us! Platonically! Just a group of friends on an outing!”

Wiping her face clear of cookie crumbs, she asked, “What do you have in mind?”

0-0-0-0-0


	5. Change Starts Long Before Anyone Notices

**Fiona**

The minute I saw the names of the people Shizu’s grouped with, I knew I had to be there.

_Damien Guerrero._

_Natalia Hale._

Two names that always spelled trouble, especially when Shizuke Midorikawa is in the same sentence.

“You don’t have to come, Fuyu. I’ll be fine,” Shizu said. Naïve fool.

“You’ll be alone with your childhood bully and his sidekick in a room full of screaming children. I don’t know about you Shizu, but that looks like a disaster waiting to happen."

“I’m sure we can set aside our differences for the task ahead.”

He was being strangely optimistic today. Scratch that – lately, he’s always strangely optimistic, which is pretty weird for a guy whose city is being invaded by a crazy butterfly lady who can turn anyone into supervillains. When the akumas first broke out, I would’ve thought I’d be looking after two problematic idiots.

“Huh. You’re handling this better than I thought you would.”

With Shizuke’s track record for overthinking stuff and underestimating himself, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets akumatized within the first month. Heck, I expected him to have a panic attack every time an akuma pops up. But so far, against all expectations, Shizu managed to keep his head and stayed a functional member of society while Kaji, the one who’s normally chill, became a glutton for danger. I’m kinda proud of the nerd for staying relatively sane inspite of all the weirdness going on with the world. Compared to that, facing his two least favorite people in the world shouldn’t be a big deal.

“So would you please let me handle this on my own?”

“I’m still not fully convinced.”

“Fuuuyuuu.”

I gave him a gentle nudge, and he winced. What a baby.

“I’m just looking out for you, stupid nerd.”

That hasn’t changed. While Shizu has come a long way from the shy doormat I first met at the very same elementary we’re headed to, I’m not about to ditch him when he needs me.

“But what about Kaji? He’s grouped with…” Shizu looked around before ducking his head down and lowering his voice when he hissed, “He’s grouped with Hawkmoth.”

If I wasn’t holding his bag of teaching stuff, I’d be face-palming by now.

“Shizu, I’ve been considering that for a while now, but I’m starting to agree with Kaji. Blair’s probably not Hawkmoth.”

One of the few changes that happened around Shizu since Hawkmoth’s reign of terror began was his weird obsession with the class’s rising fashion model, Blair Crawford. For some reason, he’s convinced that the girl is Hawkmoth. Kaji’s been trying to dissuade him for weeks. Now, even I’m trying to dissuade him. Sometimes even Blake drops in and half-assedly tries to dissuade him. Nothing we say gets him to drop his suspicions. If anything, his obsession just grows.

“Then why is she flirting with _you_ and not Kaji?”

It doesn’t help that Blair has made it her hobby to hit on Shizu. The first week of that, everyone was buzzing about it. Since then, it’s died down. Any time that redheaded model is seen hitting on a certain blue-haired nerd, people no longer stop to gawk. They treat it like it’s a perfectly normal everyday occurrence, like a teacher scolding someone for running down a hall or a nerd getting shoved into a locker by some jock… only for the jock to get bitch-slapped by me.

“To uh… See if I might figure out her secret identity with it? Or if I could map out her evil lair? Maybe she’s trying to-”

“If that’s the case, then she wouldn’t need to see your chart to know she has to shake up her attack pattern to throw you off. Face it Shizu, the girl just has a weird crush on you.”

Okay, that’s an exaggeration. It’s more like she finds it fun to mess with him. Blake spilled the deets on his twin and Kaji was a little sad that Shizu hasn’t quite hit the jackpot with the red haired model. Then again, maybe it’s for the best she doesn’t truly like him that way. Blair doesn’t quite fit Shizu’s usual type. It’ll only lead to a heartbreak, and for once, it’s not for Shizu.

“But Fuyu! It can’t be a coincidence! Akumas appear where she’s supposed to be almost all the time, and yet she’s almost always never found!” Shizu harshly whispered.

“We’ve been over this. She’s probably doing the smart thing during the akuma attacks and hid like a normal powerless civilian. Just like you always do.”

Another change with Shizu is his sudden disappearing acts. He’s always busy elsewhere, needing to go to the bathroom, stuck on classroom duties, etc. This usually happens whenever there’s an akuma attack. I should be relieved by this, except…

“Y-yes. I hide well. That’s what I do. Staying away from danger. That’s me,” he said while avoiding eye contact, fiddling with his fingers, and his face stuck on a smile too stiff to be anything but suspicious.

“Or were you?”

Whenever he acts like this, it makes me think that he’s actually closer than he claims to be. I mean, listen to his excuses:

_“Sorry I’m late! The traffic caused by the akuma attack was crazy!” said Shizu, who lives within a fifteen-minute walking distance from the school and walks there every flipping day because he’s a cheapskate who cuts costs wherever he can._

_“My grandmother called, she needs help with the shop. So bye!” said Shizu, whose grandma relies on him to handle the technological side of her business because she doesn’t even own a cellphone, much less know how to use one to call him._

_“Screaming? Oh! I was at the movies, watching that new horror movie. Yeah. Lots of people were screaming when that ghost appeared. I was nowhere near the akuma attack,” said Shizu, who was never a fan of horror ever since my older brother traumatized him with his collection when we were twelve._

Bull. Shit. All of it. Complete and utter bullshit! Shizu is a notoriously crappy liar so he doesn’t do it often. Yet, he’s doing it anyway. I wish I knew why but every time I pry…

“Civilians should not get themselves involved when it comes to akuma! It’s not safe! It’s common sense!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

He does this. Refuge in Audacity as Kaji called it. Speaking of…

“… I wish Kaji had common sense.”

“Same.”

He sounded completely genuine.

Whatever he’s hiding, I’m sure he’s not doing it to avoid us. Kaji’s just paranoid. We’re still as much of a friend to him as he is to us. That hasn’t change.

0-0-0-0-0

Being here in the same elementary I grew up in brought back some memories. We’re even in the exact same elementary school building with the same bully that brought us together. The day went by as well as expected: Natalia hogging the class, Damien ignoring us as usual.

I glared at the two from the back of the classroom. What? Are we not good enough to bully anymore? All was peaceful on our side of the room until a mousy little boy with curly black hair shyly asked us for help with making a bracelet for his big brother.

“I want to make the very b-b-bestest bracelet for him, a-and who better to help than the Jewelry Princess!”

There’s that annoying nickname again. I kept my temper in check. Contrary to popular belief, my temper doesn’t blow up at the slightest offenses. I can be calm when I want to. TOTALLY CALM.

“I’m sorry, you got it all wrong. I’m not here to teach.”

The boy instantly deflated at my rejection. “Oh. I’m sorry to bother you…”

He was just about to leave when Shizu called him back. “Wait! I can help you!”

“Really?”

“I prepared for this lesson, and I think I could do a decent job of teaching you the basics.”

Shizu may not be particularly talented at art, but even he’s miles better than me with a little practice. Tsk.

The kid seems to think so too when after a few seconds of scrutinizing the bracelet, he looked back up to Shizu and said, “I think it’s good. Please teach me.”

Shizu positively beamed… And stayed like that for an awkward minute or so. The kid’s starting to look concerned. Taking pity on him, I patted him on the shoulder.

“Kiddo, relax. You just made his day.”

0-0-0-0-0

Predictably, Shizu got a little attached to the kid. He kinda reminds me of how Shizu was when we first met. So unsure of himself, always seeking approval… Of course he’d want to help the kid. For the rest of the morning, Shizu stuck with the kid and helped him wherever he can. Soon enough, the kid also picked up on Shizu’s eagerness to help and wanted to help Shizu in return. That’s why the kid’s here with us, helping us clean up the lab after Natalia didn’t return from the bathroom and Damien just left as soon as the bell rang.

“That’s the last of it,” the kid cheerfully declared as he passed a tray of beakers for Shizu to put back into their shelves.

“Good job!” Shizu said, balancing the tray on one hand and petting the boy’s head with the other. “You go on ahead now. We’ll just close up the lab. See you later, Dylan!”

The boy, Dylan, smiled up and said his goodbyes before running off, muttering something about meeting up with his brother.

“Such a nice kid,” Shizu said.

“Yeah, if only I could trade Gav for a little brother like that...”

“Fuyu!”

“What? Gav’s obnoxious. He hardly visits home anyway. I wouldn’t miss him.”

Shizu said something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like the word ‘tsundere’. Now, what did Kaji said that meant again? Where is that weeb-tionary when I need him? Oh right, he’s hanging out with the twins. Something about setting Blake up with someone.

“Let’s just go get lunch. I’m hungry.”

“When are you not?”

For that verbal jab, Shizu is rewarded with a physical jab to the side. He laughed it off and led the way out of the lab. It took us a while to get to this point: the point where Shizu’s no longer afraid to let out a more crass side of himself around me and Kaji. It’s a shame he doesn’t joke around as much as he used to. Just another subtle sign that the akuma attacks are affecting him more than he’s letting on.

0-0-0-0-0

Even though Kaji and I managed to cheer up Shizu, what Natalia said at lunch still pisses me off. I told Shizu I was gonna go ahead and carried his stuff up here so I can finally confront that blonde witch without Shizu stopping me. It’s not like I’m actually gonna punch her in the face. No matter how tempting it is. She’s a weakling and I don’t punch weaklings. I was standing by the door when she finally walked into the classroom.

“You know, if you’re not gonna keep your opinions to yourself, why don’t you at least have the decency to say it to our faces?”

“Or maybe you guys should learn to keep your ears where they don’t belong,” she talked back with a hint of venom lacing her usual honey-sweet tone. She didn’t even face me. She just sat by one end of the teacher’s desk and started prepping her notes for the next lesson.

I went around the desk so that I was right in front of her. “You were hardly being quiet when you were bad mouthing my friend.”

Anger flashed in her face for a split second before it was gone like it was never there. Her plastic smile was up and she said, “Like when your friend is the one bad mouthing me?”

“You did just hogged the lesson and not let him teach. What about you? What did he do that made you so pissy around him?”

“Then what about Damien? He never said a word to him...”

Never said a word? Oh if only this stupid blonde knew how much her friend hurt Shizu she wouldn’t be ranting like this. Now I know for sure that she knew nothing. I’ve always suspected this to be the case. And yet here she is, talking like she knew everything.

“… What’s his problem? Damien doesn’t deserve-”

Natalia flinched and stopped her rant. That rush of anger I felt must’ve shown in my face. I pushed myself away from the teacher’s desk and turned to the door. I didn’t look back at Natalia, but I can tell she’s confused.

“If you really want answers,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “Maybe you should ask your good friend Damien... If he’d tell you anything, that is.”

I slammed the door behind me. Taking deep breaths, I told myself over and over to calm down. It wouldn’t do to get akumatized over this. She isn’t worth turning into an akuma and putting everyone around me in danger.

In the end, I didn’t turn into an akuma. But my relief was short-lived as a few minutes later, an akuma attacked the school and Kaji was once again running towards the sounds of danger. That idiot! Now I have to follow him to make sure the idiot doesn’t get himself killed.

0-0-0-0-0

A lot has changed since third grade… At least, that’s what I like to tell myself.

I’m no longer the Jewelry Princess only to be admired from afar. I’m a strong fighter who can protect herself and others…

“Whatever you’re trying to achieve here, you can shove it! I’m not letting you drag my friends into it!”

Right in front of me was yet another akuma. For whatever reason, he’s after my friends. Like hell would I let him get to them without a fight!

“YOU’RE THE REASON MIDORIKAWA WON’T LISTEN TO ME!!!”

It was embarrassing how fast I was captured. Kaji, that idiot who has no common sense, managed to free himself from his own net and jumped after me just as Bully Hunter left the cafeteria.

Around fifty feet up later, Kaji had the nerve to ask, “Fuyu? Fuyu! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Just my pride. How about you? Did you hit your head back there? Because you must have a serious concussion to think that jumping after me is a good idea!”

“Oh. Sarcasm. You must be okay then.”

“We’re suspended about fifty feet off the ground by glowing beads and blue yarn. I’m doing better than okay, thank you for asking!”

“The akuma hasn’t hurt us,” at my glare, Kaji amended, “Technically speaking. Just stay positive! Ladybug will save us.”

“Tsk. It would be better if we don’t need to be saved at all.”

It still stings that Kaji keeps getting himself into danger with akumas and there’s nothing I could do about it. Shizu and I have tried countless times to get him to talk to us, but he’s slippery. The guy is just so determined to jump at akumas, it’s ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!

It got worse when the akuma grabbed me as a hostage. Chat Noire had this reckless scheme that sent me falling off the clock tower with Ladybug swinging down to catch me.

Just like that, it’s like we’re back to where it all started: by the clock tower, a superhero saving a helpless little girl from some poor sap possessed by an evil butterfly.

“Are you-“

As soon as we landed, I pushed myself away from the superhero. I tilted my head up to the tower, pointedly avoiding his concerned gaze. I get enough of that from Kaji, Shizu, and the rest of my family. I don’t need any more of that from a superhero too.

“I’m fine,” I said, willing my voice not to tremble.

There was a loud explosion up in the clock tower that saved me from further questioning from the bug hero.

“You should go.”

Ladybug did not linger any longer and swung himself back up to the clock tower… While I’m just standing down here, watching him disappear into the smoke coming out of the tower’s roof.

Bullies are one thing. They’re people. They don’t have special powers. I can take them on no matter how many of them Damien has on his side. But akumas? All I can really do is sit and wait for the real heroes to come and rescue me like a damsel in distress… Like a princess.

Times like these, it feels like I went back to square one. The logical part of my brain tried to comfort me by saying that they’re akuma. A normal teenager wouldn’t stand a chance against them. I’m not weak for being helpless against akuma. But my pride still felt the blow and hated how useless I am. Weakling.

0-0-0-0-0

Miraculous Ladybug put everything back to normal and sent everyone back to the ground. Chat Noire fled the tower first, followed by Ladybug carrying the latest akuma victim.

“Fuyu!” Kaji yelled as he glomped me. Just as quickly as he hugged me, he jumped away as though he was burned. He tried to smile, but it came off as forced. “You’re okay.”

I punched him in the arm.

“Ow! Fuyu!”

“That was for making me worry, idiot!”

Kaji rolled his eyes. “Well excuse me, little miss badass. I’m not the one who fell off the clock tower.”

“It’s not my fault the akuma took me hostage. At least I don’t actively try to put myself in danger.”

Kaji huffed and turned away from me. “I only did what I had to do.”

I pulled him by the shoulder to get him to look my way. “No you don’t.”

He looked back with a stubborn glint in his eye, no different from his headstrong father that often frustrated him.

“I have to.”

Things soon went from awkward to tense and finally to normal. Kaji was whining the whole way back about how unfair life is because he couldn’t get an interview with the heroes today.

That was when my phone rang. It’s probably Shizu, asking if we’re okay. He could just check the Ladyblog to know we’re okay, but the frantic nerd prefers to hear it from ourselves that we’re okay. Sap. I reassured him that we’re fine, and asked where he is. His answer was concerning.

“He’s with Damien?” Kaji asked after Shizu hung up.

I gripped my phone tightly at the sound of the bully’s name. “Apparently.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Same.”

0-0-0-0-0

Worried about his class since the twins aren’t responding to his calls, Kaji decided to go ahead to check on his class leaving me alone at the playground to deal with Shizuke and Damien.

"Shizu!” I yelled as soon as I saw that familiar head of blue hair. He’s not alone. I placed myself by Shizu’s side, protecting him from Damien. I glared up at the giant bully and growled, "You better not be messing with Shizu's head again."

How nostalgic. We’re even at the exact place where I first fought Damien to save Shizu.

Instead of glaring back like I expected, Damien nodded his head down. "I know, and I'm sorry for everything I did as Bully Hunter, I-"

"Zip it. Haven’t you seen the Ladyblog? People see me with Kaji on the Ladyblog all the freaking time! I of all people would know that akumas are just unlucky people who were controlled by Hawkmoth when they were down! I'm not gonna hold anything you said or did as an akuma against you. Apologizing about that is stupid, so I don’t wanna hear it."

"Right… Sorry."

Damien looked down to the side, avoiding my glare.

“I have better reasons to be mad at you that you’re actually accountable for.”

I’ve had enough of this jerk. With a huff, I grabbed Shizuke by the arm and marched ahead.

"Let's just get back to the classroom. The yellow eyesore must be getting tired of taking care of a classroom full of screaming children by herself.”

When we got back in class, I was surprised by the change of dynamics in their trio. For the rest of the afternoon, Shizu was able to have his turn in teaching. Good for him.

Natalia was being pissier than usual when we first entered the room. Probably my fault, but I’m not apologizing when I’m not feeling it. A quick talk with Damien was all it took for her to try to be more civil. She occasionally shoots questioning looks at Damien after that. Guess it wasn’t too late for the dumb blonde to learn things.

I still don’t trust Damien. He may be acting nice and helping Shizu now, but it may be just like the old days… He might be trying to get Shizu to owe him so he can have him on a leash again. But this isn’t like old times. I’m stronger now. I’m not scared of him. I won’t let him hurt Shizu again.

0-0-0-0-0

“Just because you got him akumatized doesn’t mean you owe it to him to forgive him.”

“Fuyu! Feet off the coffee table!” Shizu swat my feet down. “And no, I’m not doing this because I akumatized him and owe him forgiveness. I’ve grown out of that mentality,” he huffed and placed two cups and a pitcher of ice cold lemonade on the coffee table. “I just… I just don’t like the person I become when I let my grudge get ahead of me. That’s why I want to stop being mad at him.”

I drop my glare at that and shook my head. “Sometimes, I think you’re being too nice for your own good. It’s okay to be mad at him. He had it coming.”

“Not when I’m hurting him and he hasn’t done anything recently to deserve it.”

“You say that like you’re not still affected by all the crap he said before,” I poured myself a cup of lemonade, careful not to break the glass with my tight angry grip. “He’s a horrible person.”

“He’s changed. That’s not what he is anymore.”

Shizu, you stupid bleeding heart. Now we’re here in his living room discussing the latest akuma, Bully Hunter, who turned out to be Damien.

Shizu told me everything that happened. Apparently, Shizu is the one who got Damien akumatized by growing a spine and yelling at Damien about all the pain he caused him. What a milestone! Must be seen to be believed! Kaji would’ve been here too if he wasn’t stuck in detention with the twins. Something about setting the classroom on fire.

But now Shizu’s feeling guilty about standing up for himself. Ugh. Typical Shizu. As strict as he is around everyone, he takes it the hardest when he believes he’s the one stepping out of line. Better make sure he doesn’t do something stupid like…

“You’re not going back to that toxic pit he called ‘friendship’, are you?”

“Of course not! I know better. I wouldn’t even call us friends right now, we’re more like acquaintances. But if he starts acting like how he used to, I’ll throw him.”

“Good.”

I trust him to at least defend himself if Damien ever resorts to violence. As for the mind games, I’ll just have to keep an eye on him.

“But if he really wants to change for the better, we shouldn’t discourage him.”

I slammed the glass over the wooden coffee table. It only made a loud clang but it didn’t even crack.

“Argh… Fine! Whatever. Just don’t let your pity cloud your judgement.”

“Don’t worry Fuyu. This won’t be the same as third grade. Besides, I know you have my back.”

“You can bet on that,” I picked up the jar hidden under the coffee table and popped a cookie into my mouth.

Lately, Shizu’s taken up to baking cookies. His apartment is never without a full jar of them. They’re actually pretty good, better than the ones from most stores – probably because he doesn’t skimp on certain ingredients, like chocolate chips. Shizu doesn’t know to how to half-ass things. To this day, he never explained why the sudden random interest in confectionary. Not that I’m complaining. Naturally, I’ve taken up to cookie hunting at his place whenever I visit.

Shizu gave me a disapproving look. Oh right, he made these. He’d probably want some for himself.

I grabbed a handful of cookies and offered it to him. “Here.”

He groaned, like this wasn’t what he wanted, but took the cookies anyway. Weirdly, he put some into his backpack. Saving it for later? But we’re in his apartment, and I can see his fridge just beyond the counter that separates the living room from the kitchen…

“Actually, I have a favor to ask you.”

“What is it?” I said in between chewing.

Shizu’s nose scrunched at my lack of table manners. What a mom.

“Fuyu,” he took a deep breath before continuing. “I need you to help me ask out Blake.”

The cookie jar nearly slipped off my fingers as I choked on a cookie. Shizu quickly refilled my glass which I gratefully accepted. As soon as I cleared my throat, I yelped, “Wait, what?!”

Realizing how he worded his request, Shizu’s face turned red and he stuttered out, “That’s not what I meant! I mean, we ask him to go out with us! Platonically! Just a group of friends on an outing!”

Wiping my face clean of crumbs, I asked, “What do you have in mind?”

0-0-0-0-0

And that is how I find myself here, in an arcade, with a certain pair of red haired models tagging along on our ‘Friday Game Night’.

“Fuyu! Why did you brought _her_ along?!” Shizu hissed while the twins were busy playing at a dance game.

“She would’ve bitten my head off if I didn’t.”

Kaji wasn’t kidding when he said that Blair is the overprotective twin. Yeesh. Kinda funny when I remembered that she’s the _younger_ twin. No wonder she and Kaji get along.

“I’m sure you could’ve handled her,” Shizu lowered his volume and said, “Even if she turns out to be Hawkmoth, it’s not like she gets much exercise from that. As long as you take her down before she transforms, you should be able to overpower her.”

“As much as it flatters me that you think I’m stronger than the city’s most wanted supervillain, I don’t see why Blair shouldn’t be allowed to come along on an outing to cheer up her twin.”

Shizu huffed and went over to the dance game to glare at Blair. As soon as Blake was defeated, Kaji pushed Shizu in his place to challenge Blair. The redhead’s eyes glinted when she saw her next challenger and said something that made him blush furiously as he yelled, “No! I am not dancing to that song with you!”

Kaji cackled to himself on the side, pleased at his ‘matchmaking skills’. Just because he can’t set Blake up with someone, doesn’t mean he’s not gonna try to set up the other twin with his best bud. Blake leaned over the air hockey table I was standing by, waiting for a turn.

“You guys seriously going through all this trouble just to cheer me up about Natalia?”

“Someone’s observant,” I stated flatly. “But yeah, that’s exactly what’s happening here. Is it working?”

“I suppose this beats moping around in my room all day.”

“Good.”

“Uhm, yeah. I better thank Keagan, then,” Blake awkwardly said as he turned to look back at Blair and Shizu at the dance machine.

The aforementioned ‘couple’ has finally decided to dance to a bubbly K-Pop song and were showing off their dance skills. It looks like no one’s gonna be getting a turn any time soon. They were starting to attract a crowd, most of them starting to notice that there’s a model in this beat up old arcade.

“You know, this is all Shizu’s idea.”

“Really? I would’ve thought it was Keagan who planned this.”

I snorted. “If he had his way, he’d be setting you up on a blind date.”

Cold sweat broke into Blake’s face as he shuddered. “Thank God Shizuke toned it down. I’m really not in the mood for romance right now.”

“Shizu’s always been the more down to earth one in our friend group.”

Blake looked confused with my statement. “… You’re not giving yourself enough credit.”

“I’m serious.”

“Well, someone has to keep those two hotheads in check and watch out for them. From what I can see, it’s you who’s doing just that.”

I shook my head. “No, you don’t get it. Shizu… He’s sort of like our rock. Yes, he’s like an overbearing mother hen sometimes who jumps to ridiculous conclusions about your sister… But he’s always there to give us a listening ear and an honest opinion on things. When the world goes crazy, we can always count on him to keep us grounded. No strings attached. People like that are hard to come by for people like me and Kaji.”

The curse of the rich and famous, as Kaji once said.

“… I get that,” he said, eyes staring intently at Blair. “I suppose I have someone like that too.”

We stayed in silence, neither of us feeling the need to talk to each other and like it better that way. Leave the socializing to the extroverts. As soon as the air hockey table was cleared, we took our places and started a game. The point of this outing was to help keep his mind off of Natalia, and playing a good game of air hockey was one way to do it.

Besides, I’d rather not give Blake advice for his love life. I, of all people, can’t give him advice on romance without sounding like a hypocrite.

“Hey, guys!” Kaji cheerfully greeted as he tapped me on the shoulder.

The distraction was enough for Blake to sneak past my defense and score a win. I glared at the redhead who was grinning smugly, making his family resemblance with Blair all the more obvious, then I glared at the cause of my loss.

“What?” I hissed, using my anger at losing to cover up the fact that my face is turning red for any other reason.

Kaji, thick skinned as ever, wasn’t affected by my glares and cheerfully carried on. “Has either of you seen Shizu or Blair? I lost them in the crowd.”

“Nope,” Blake said, after a quick scan of the arcade. Blair at least should be easy to spot with her long crimson hair.

“Think my ‘secretly dating’ theory is actually happening here?” Kaji grinned, perfectly covering up his anxiety about Shizu’s disappearing acts with shipping. Typical Kaji. If I wasn’t familiar with his patterns, I wouldn’t have been able to tell it apart from his usual shippy self.

To him, shipping is fuel for optimism. Lost an uncle? Ship his teacher with his aunt so he can get a new one. Friend flaking on us? He’s secretly dating someone, not purposefully avoiding us. I suppose there are worse coping mechanisms than shipping. Why can’t he be content with shipping LadyNoire instead of jumping into akuma attacks to take vids them?

“Oh Bro…~ Check out what we got for you.~”

Blair and Shizu came up from behind Blake, and Blair draped a black hoodie over her brother. When Blake held it out, revealed the cat ears over the hood, the silver studs, the pockets with the zippers, the cuffs, the bell charm… the jacket may not be made of leather, but its design is clearly inspired by Chat Noire. Blake raised a brow at the two.

“You guys teamed up and hogged the dance machine for this?”

Shizu was nervously shifting about. “Yeah… I-We thought you’d like it…”

“I don’t like it…”

“Oh,” Shizu deflated, thinking Blake is upset and not noticing the growing smile on the model boy’s face.

“I love it!” Blake exclaimed. I’ve never seen the normally stone-faced twin so _giddy_ before. To the side, Kaji had his trusty phone out to record this. “Sis and I have always been a fan of superheroes and like collecting hero merch.”

“See, Shizuke. I told you he’d like it,” Blair said, patting Shizu by the shoulder in a friendly manner.

Shizu swatted her hand away, folded his arms close to his chest, and glared at her, the lights above hitting his glasses just right made it look more intimidating. “Just because I helped you win doesn’t mean we’re friends.”

Blair mock pouted at him. “D’aww, and I thought you were starting to warm up to me.~”

As for Blake, he was too busy excitedly putting on his new jacket to care about his sister hitting on Shizu.

“Man, I always wanted a Chat Noire jacket! Chat Noire merchandise are much harder to find than Ladybug merchandise. I don’t know if it’s because Ladybug’s more popular or it’s because more people can pull off black than red with black polka dots so her stuff sells out faster…” and so he droned on and on about how there should be more Chat Noire stuff on the market. Next to him, Blair was nodding eagerly at everything he said. Shizu too, for once in perfect agreement with the redhead.

I don’t know what was more surprising: the twins turning out to be superhero geeks or the fact that Shizu willingly cooperated with Blair even if he still hates her. Then again, he was able to work with Damien and Natalia a few days ago and they’re not quite buddy-buddy with each other.

“Oooh… Does Shizu have some competition for Chat Noire’s attention here?” Kaji teased.

Shizu stiffened and stared at Blake in horror, probably thinking something stupid like how he doesn’t stand a chance against a model. I always found it weird that Shizu developed a celebrity crush on Chat Noire, since she doesn’t quite fit Shizu’s usual preference for Yamato Nadeshiko types.

On the other hand, Blake cringed in disgust. Curiously enough, Blair’s face also cringed similarly at about the same time. Is this a twin thing? Always sympathizing strongly with each other and feeling their twin’s every pain?

“No. Just no,” he firmly said, an eyebrow twitching. “Chat Noire is cool and all, but I don’t like her like that. I have an aversion for redheads.”

Shizu visibly exhaled in relief.

“To all the redheads who have a thing for my brother, I am so sorry for being born with red hair more fabulous than yours,” Blair said, not sounding very sorry at all as she flipped her crimson red hair. Snarky redhead.

Now that I think about it, Blair and Chat Noire do have that in common… Maybe Shizu liking Blair isn’t as impossible as I thought.

Before this conversation can devolve into a superhero geek fest between the twins and my two hero fan friends, someone’s stomach growled and Kaji suggested we grab a bite to eat at the snack bar.

0-0-0-0-0

We gathered around a booth, the table full of food – Kaji’s treat. Shizu would’ve protested but Kaji shot him down by saying, “You and Blair got him a jacket, and Fuyu let him beat her at air hockey,” ignoring Blake’s indignant ‘hey!’ behind him, Kaji continued his argument with a pout. “Let me do this one thing!”

We took our seats in the half circle booth. I was seated between Kaji and Shizu. Much to Shizu’s dismay, he’s seated next to Blair. Predictably, Blake took the other end of the line, right next to his sister. We passed around cans of coke and had a toast.

“I would like to say, thank you all for dragging us here today. We had a lot of fun!” Blair declared, raising her coke can like it’s a classy champagne flute.

Blake stood up with his coke also raised like a champagne flute, and nodded towards Shizu with a shy smile. Wow. This guy should smile more often. Kaji thinks so too, he even had his phone out to take a picture of the _‘angsty emo bad boy’_ smiling.

“Yeah. Thanks. I really appreciate it, Shizuke.”

What he didn’t say was that he’s referring to not letting Kaji set him up with someone tonight. Tactful.

“Oh, uhm… You’re welcome,” Shizu said as he fixed his glasses, which is actually a poor attempt to hide how flustered he is. He’s straight but even he’s affected by Blake’s smile.

Blair turned her head towards Shizu, eyes wide. “Wait, this was your idea?”

Kaji reached over my head and ruffled Shizu’s hair. “Yep. This guy made it his job to look out for everyone,” Kaji winked at Blair. “Quite a catch, no?”

Sigh. He still hasn’t given up on the ShizuBlair ship.

Instead of following that up with her usual flirty quips, Blair just looked at Shizu with analytic green eyes before saying, “You really went out of your way to cheer up my brother… Didn’t think this is how you’d go about it, though.”

Shizu huffed in indignation. “What were you expecting then?”

“You giving Blake a pile of mind-numbing schoolwork to get his mind off Natalia or something.”

“Did you honestly believe I only think of school-related stuff all the time?”

A secretive smirk made its way to Blair’s face, “Nope. I’m pretty sure you think of me at least half the time.~”

Poor Shizu, unable to deny it, he had no words for Blair’s blatant flirtation and just gracelessly sputtered how she’s wrong while she just laughed at his flustered state. Kaji was cackling to himself at the spectacle and Blake just shook his head, but he looks just as amused by their antics.

“See? Shipping really does make the world a happier place,” Kaji whispered to me, which made me roll my eyes.

“Whatever, Kaji.”

In the midst of the chaos, I saw Blair stealing glances at Shizu from time to time, smiling that candid smile she doesn’t use for a pictorial… Is the way to this model’s heart through her twin brother? If it is, then Shizu just won himself some brownie points he didn’t want. Kaji noticed too, but didn’t point it out and just quietly took pictures.

Dinner soon ended and it was time to leave. Blair went outside, away from the noise of the arcade so she can call the Liungs to fetch them. Blake stayed behind to talk to us.

“I’ve had a lot of fun today thanks to you guys.”

“No problem, Blake,” I said.

“You can always call us any time you need a little pick-me-up after a heartbreak,” Kaji added with a wink.

I elbowed him in the ribs, making him gag on air.

“Geez, Fuyu. Jealous much?” he said in a light joking tone, indicating that he’s not that hurt.

I ignored him in favor of talking to Blake. “Don’t hesitate to call any of us for that or if you just want to hang out. It would be nice to have another sane person around.”

“Yeah. Next time we all hang out, I hope it doesn’t have something to do with my failure in romance…” Blake shook his head and steadied his voice like he’s making a promise. “No, I’ll make sure it’s not going to be about that again.”

“Mind explaining to us what this is about?” I asked.

“I’m moping now because I kept hesitating until it was too late. If I gave it a shot sooner, maybe Natalia and I would be dating by now, and I wouldn’t be here thinking about all the time and opportunities I wasted.”

“But what if she still dumps you anyway?” Shizu asked, reminding us that he’s still here and hasn’t pulled his disappearing act again.

Blake paused to think about it. His lips tilted up to a sad smile as he said, “Even if it doesn’t lead to anything, I at least tried and gave it my all. I wouldn’t be here wondering about ‘what ifs’. There’s nothing regrettable about that.”

Shizu fell silent as he adjusted his glasses. He looked to be pondering something before he said, “… That’s understandable.”

“Why, Shizu? Planning on confessing to someone?” Kaji asked.

“N-N-NO!”

While Kaji was busy questioning Shizu about the mystery ship involving our friend, Blake was looking at me pointedly. I narrowed my eyes back at him. No. I am not taking his bait. Nuh-uh. This guy doesn’t even know anything. Now’s not a good time to worry about my feelings when a certain idiot is trying to solve his issues by jumping at akuma instead of talking it out with his friends.

The moment was gone, and Blake is back to talking to everyone.

“Blair’s right. I won’t get anywhere if I don’t do anything about it,” as if realizing what he just said, Blake gave us a stern look and added, “Just don’t tell her I said that. I don’t need her getting any more insufferable than she already is.”

Shizu and I nodded at him while Kaji made zipping gestures over his mouth.

“Hey!” Blair called after us from outside the arcade. “What’s taking you so long?! Are you having a heart-to-heart without me?!”

Blake rolled his eyes. “Coming, sis!”

With that, we all went out the arcade just in time to see Blair hang up on her phone.

“Our ride’s coming soon. Did you guys actually have a heart-to-heart?”

We all shook our heads in denial, honoring Blake’s request.

Loud screeching of tires alerted us when a car parked in front of the arcade, gangster style. The driver seat’s window rolled down revealing a man – no, a teenager with brownish black hair and dark grey eyes with a wide smile planted on his rosy white face.

“Little bro! Little sis!” the guy greeted with a wide friendly smile, looking nothing like his so-called younger siblings. This must be twins’ foster brother, Vincent Liung. “I’m here to pick you up!”

“We can see that,” Blair flatly said.

The twins hopped into the back of the car. As the car drove away, we could see the twins waving at us through the windows. Blake in particular was giving me a meaningful look while mouthing something that looks suspiciously like ‘tell Kaji’. Cowardly meddlesome bastard.

Kaji was squinting after the car. “Hey Fuyu, did you get what Blake was trying to say? I couldn’t see it from my angle.”

“It was nothing,” I said with a straight face. While I prefer being blunt about things, that doesn’t mean I can’t pull a good poker face. “We better get home too,” I was about to pull out my phone to call either Mama or Gav, when Kaji spoke up.

“No need for that. Aunt Vera said Uncle Ross will be here in fifteen minutes,” how and when did he contact his aunt when he didn’t stop talking to anyone the whole evening remains a mystery. “She said he’ll be cool with giving you guys a ride too.”

“Whipped and not even married yet,” I shook my head in mild disapproval. Mr. Ross is back to being lame and hasn’t done anything cool since third grade. At least he managed to propose to Kaji’s aunt. It only took him five years to get there. “When’s the wedding?”

“I don’t know, but I heard it’s sometime this spring!” Kaji was practically sparkling when he announced it. “They’re still debating on whether to hold the reception at the castle or at Lucia Park. Isn’t it exciting?”

“Yeah. Sure. Whatever.”

Formal events. And on Spring too. Ugh… That means dresses and pastels.

Seemingly reading my mind, Kaji said in a comforting tone, “Don’t worry, I’m sure I can get Aunt Vera to let you wear a suit.”

It’s times like these that I wish I can get him the way he gets me.

“That’s a relief.”

Content with my response, Kaji turned to where I believe Shizu was standing.

“So Shizu, until Uncle Ross comes around, care for a round of- Shizu?”

No, Shizu didn’t disappear again. Not physically, anyway. He just stood there by the door with a glazed look on his face.

“You still there, bud?” Kaji asked, waving his hand in front of Shizu’s glasses.

That seemed to snap him out of whatever funk he got his head in. Shizu nearly tripped over his own legs as soon as he was alert again. It’s not unusual for Shizu to get lost in his thoughts. What’s unusual is that this is happening more and more often lately and he’s not saying anything about it. Sometimes, he’d space out in the middle of a conversation. There are times where he looks like he wants to tell us something, but for some reason, he doesn’t.

“I’m here! What were we talking about?”

As much as I wanted to ask him what he was thinking about, I knew he’d just shut us out. But if he thinks for one second that I’m unaware that he’s hiding something, he’s got another thing coming.

“Mr. Ross is fetching us here in fifteen minutes. Want me to crush you at air hockey before we leave?”

“Oh, okay Fuyu.”

One of these days, I’ll get him to talk.

“Hey! I asked him to play with me first! I called dibs!”

I’ll get them _both_ to talk.

0-0-0-0-0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fridge, the reason Shizuke got flustered when Blake smiled at him is because he subconsciously recognizes it as a smile similar to Chat Noire's sincere smile.
> 
> Anywho, this is the end of this episode and the next one is still a work in progress. Not gonna say when it'll be out since I'm bad at keeping up with deadlines for personal projects. So next episode is gonna be more Blair-centric and is focused on her model job. That's all I can say without spoiling it too much. To those of you who actually read my story this far, thank you! Especially Fergus, saltythebear, thewannabefangirl, and to all the guests who gave me a kudos. You know who you are. Thank you very much!


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